Canadiens pull out victory over Devils
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens may not have been able to get a lot of shots through on Martin Brodeur, but they put some bodies in front of the New Jersey Devils goalie at the right time.
Montreal left winger Alex Galchenyuk scored 9:34 into the third period to send the Canadiens on to a 3-2 win over New Jersey on Monday night.
All three Montreal forwards were in the goalmouth when Galchenyuk redirected defenseman Alexei Emelin's point shot past Brodeur.
"I was trying to look through traffic and he just shot it wide, or made a pass there," Brodeur said. "I don't know if he wanted to do that, but it was a pretty easy goal for Galchenyuk."
Canadiens center David Desharnais set up second-period goals by left wingers Rene Bourque, who also assisted on Galchenyuk's goal, and Max Pacioretty to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead.
"They were all over us there for a little bit as well and as soon as we got right back to our hard forecheck and playing in their end, that's when the momentum comes and that's when the success comes," Pacioretty said.
Goalie Carey Price made 28 saves for Montreal, which was outshot 30-17, including 11-4 in the second.
"They had four shots in the second and they scored two goals," New Jersey center Patrik Elias said. "Every one of the mistakes kind of cost us."
The Canadiens have claimed 13 of a possible 14 points while going 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
Right wingers Steve Bernier and Michael Ryder scored for the Devils, who had won their two previous games following a three-game losing streak.
"We played well," said Brodeur, who stopped 14 shots. "We had some good chances. We missed a couple of open-netters that their defense made great plays on, and in the end, I think that made the difference."
It was the first of back-to-back games between the two Eastern Conference teams. The Devils host Montreal on Wednesday night.
"Games like this, you know your opponent," Price said. "You know what they're going to bring right away so we're just going to have to grab some momentum from this game and carry it into Jersey."
Ryder drew New Jersey even at 2-2 with a slap shot past Price 4:42 into the third. Bernier opened the scoring with his third goal midway through the first.
Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban twice prevented pucks that got behind Price from going into the net, including a stick stop on Devils right winger Jaromir Jagr's chance at an open right side in the first that would have given New Jersey a 2-0 lead.
"He's playing his best hockey, and his focus is at the right place," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said about Subban.
Montreal scored on consecutive shots in the second, shots that came eight minutes apart.
Bourque scored his sixth goal at 8:49 to tie it at 1. Desharnais made a blind backhand pass to set up Bourque as he drove through the right faceoff circle to snap a shot past Brodeur.
Pacioretty, who scored twice in a 4-2 win against Toronto on Saturday, put the Canadiens ahead with his 10th goal on a power play at 16:49.
Bernier deflected defenseman Anton Volchenkov's point shot to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 11:13 of the first.
NOTES: Devils G Martin Brodeur played his first game in Montreal since his father died in September. Denis Brodeur was the Canadiens' photographer when Martin was growing up, and he remained a constant presence at rinkside, where he shot action photos of his son whenever New Jersey played at Bell Centre. ... New Jersey LW Tim Sestito made his season debut. He was recalled from AHL Albany on Sunday. ... The Canadiens have allowed two goals or less, including a 3-2 shootout loss in Washington on Nov. 22, while going 8-1-2 in their past 11 games. ... D Francis Bouillon, C Ryan White and RW George Parros did not dress for Montreal.
