NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Patrik Elias scored his 375th NHL goal, Martin Brodeur made 19 saves for his 669th victory and the New Jersey Devils earned a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
New Jersey, which was eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, dealt a blow to Montreal’s hopes of winning the Northeast Division. The Devils (18-18-10) won for the third time in four games following a 10-game losing streak.
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The sputtering Canadiens (27-14-5) lost for the fifth time in six games and are tied atop the Northeast with Boston, which has a game in hand.
Elias gave the Devils a 1-0 lead in the first period, Jacob Josefson netted his first of the season in the opening frame, and Steve Sullivan made it 3-0 in the second.
Max Pacioretty and Lars Eller both had second-period goals for Montreal.
The Devils took the lead with a power-play goal. Just 17 seconds after Rene Bourque went off for interference, New Jersey took advantage. Marek Zidlicky sent a pass to Travis Zajac, who found Elias skating in alone on goalie Carey Price. Elias fired a wrist shot past Price for his 14th goal of the season.
The Devils made it 2-0 with an even-strength goal with 2:24 left in the first. Josefson scored off a mad scramble in front, poking the puck past Price. It was Josefson’s first goal since March 29, 2012.
New Jersey is 14-1-4 this season in games in which it scored first.
Pacioretty sliced the Canadiens’ deficit to 3-1 with a power-play goal just 1:30 after Sullivan scored.
Eller made it 3-2 in the closing seconds of the second when Alex Galchenyuk made a play behind the goal and pushed a backhanded pass to Eller in front with 14 seconds remaining.
NOTES: The Devils gave slumping sophomore center Adam Henrique the night off. Henrique had scored just one goal in 14 games. … The Devils said defenseman and captain Bryce Salvador will not play in the final three games of the season due to an injured wrist. … Brodeur considered sitting out, but wanted to play against the Canadiens, the team he rooted for as a youngster.
