Streak continues with SO win
Desharnais comes up big late in game
NEWARK, N.J.
David Desharnais scored the winning goal in a shootout to give the Canadiens a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils Wednesday night at the Prudential Center. Desharnais scored after New Jersey’s Reid Boucher and Lars Eller exchanged goals in the first round of the shootout.
Dramatic finish: Desharnais sent the game into overtime when he deflected Brian Gionta’s shot at 19:23 of the third period. There was a video review of the play that confirmed that Desharnais’s stick wasn’t above the level of the crossbar.
See-saw period: The third period was a wide-open af- fair as former Canadien Michael Ryder assisted on a goal by Andrei Loktionov and then scored at 9:05 to give the Devils their first lead. Eller pulled the Canadiens even at 16:10, but Patrik Elias put New Jersey back on top with an unassisted goal at 18:45.
Danny boy: The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead when Daniel Brière’s pass from the far boards found Gionta as he went hard to the net at 10:36 of the first period. Gionta lifted the puck over Cory Schneider’s pads and the goalie was a split-second late with his glove hand. Missed opportunities: New Jersey rookie Eric Gelinas hit a post in the first period and the Devils came up short on several attempts in the second period. Peter Budaj stopped Adam Henrique on a short-handed breakaway and former Canadien Ryder didn’t come close to hitting the net on a 2-on-1 break. There was an empty net after Budaj stopped Mark Fayne late in the period, but Loktionov was slow corralling the rebound and Michael Bournival got his stick in the way of the shot Streaks continue: The Canadiens have picked up at least a point in each of their last eight game. They have a three-game winning streak and are 9-1-2 in their past 12 games. Budaj improved his record to 5-1-1. Power outage: The power play wasn’t a factor and that’s because both teams have excellent penalty-killing units.
The Devils rank third in the league and held the Canadiens to three shots on three power play. The Devils managed five shots on three power plays against the Canadiens who are fourth on the PK. Prust earns decision: Brandon Prust and Cam Janssen dropped the gloves early on and Prust dominated. His uppercut to Janssen’s jaw was highlight of the bout. What’s next: The Canadiens take on the Atlantic Divisionleading Boston Bruins Thursday night at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., TSN-Habs, TSN690 Radio). The Bruins are only one point ahead of Montreal but the Canadiens have played two more games. The week wraps up Saturday night when the Canadiens entertain the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN-690 Radio).