Canadiens 2, Devils 1
Carey Price made 28 saves and Tomas Kaberle recorded a pair of assists in his first game with the Montreal Canadiens en route to a 2-1 victory over the host New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon.
Max Pacioretty scored on the power play and Erik Cole added his 10th tally for the Canadiens, who won for the second time in their last eight games.
Kaberle was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday in an effort to boost a Montreal power play that had converted just 1 of 36 chances over the last nine games and 11.4 percent overall. Kaberle proved his worth in that regard in the second period, anchoring the power play for Pacioretty’s tally.
Kaberle brought the puck up ice and sent it to Cole, who dropped if off at the left face-off circle. Pacioretty picked it up and blasted his 11th goal past Martin Brodeur, glancing it off the inside of the far post.
The Canadiens got an insurance goal at the 5:17 mark of the third, when Mathieu Darche took a feed from Kaberle and sent a shot in from the right side that Brodeur blocked. The veteran net minder failed to coral the rebound, leaving it out front for Cole to clean up.
Nick Palmieri drew New Jersey within 2-1 with 6:26 left and the Devils drew a penalty shot with 49 seconds remaining. But Price stopped Zach Parise with his left pad to hold the lead.