Canadiens 3, Devils 1
Mathieu Darche scored a pair of goals and All-Star Carey Price came within six minutes of his ninth shutout of the season as the Montreal Canadiens posted a 3-1 road victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban also tallied, captain Brian Gionta notched two assists and Price made 20 saves for the Canadiens, who had scored just five goals in their previous five games. The visiting team has won each of the last seven meetings between the clubs.
Ilya Kovalchuk scored while Martin Brodeur stopped 26 shots for New Jersey, which lost at home for only the fourth time in 18 contests and officially was eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 1995-96.
Zach Parise returned to the Devils' lineup after missing 65 games with a knee injury and registered two shots on goal in just over 16 minutes of action without recording a point.
After Devils rookie Mattias Tedenby failed to convert a penalty shot 4:48 into the game, Darche redirected a pass from Gionta past Brodeur at 9:43 of the first period for a 1-0 lead.
Subban beat Brodeur with a blast from the blue line during a power play 29 seconds into the third for his sixth tally in eight games and Darche completed his first two-goal effort of the season with another deflection at 3:34 for a 3-0 cushion.
Kovalchuk spoiled Price's shutout bid at 14:01, tucking the puck inside the left post for his 29th goal.