Hall extends his streak, Devils top Canadiens

NEWARK, N.J. --Taylor Hall had two assists to extend his point streak to 26 games, and the New Jersey Devils ended a three-game losing streak with a 6-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
Travis Zajac had two goals and an assist for the Devils (34-25-8), who hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Devils highlights]
Hall has 38 points (18 goals, 20 assists) in his past 26 games played; he missed three games from Jan. 22-25 with a thumb injury. He has a point in 19 straight games (13 goals, 13 assists), the longest streak in the NHL this season, since returning from his injury.

"It seems like everything is kind of bouncing the right way when I'm out there," Hall said. "It's great to chip in and contribute, but at the end of the day I just want to be on a team that gets into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If I'm getting points doing that, that's great."
The Devils built a 4-0 lead in the first period on goals by Stefan Noesen at 8:25, Blake Coleman at 16:33, and consecutive power-play goals by Zajac at 18:08 and 19:48.
"You want to see all four lines chipping," Hall said. "Secondary scoring lets guys breathe a little bit and gives them confidence. We're going to need everyone chipping in. To see guys like [Brian Boyle] and [Zajac] scoring, that's huge. They're big parts of our team."
Jacob de la Rose scored twice, and Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves for the Canadiens (25-30-11).

"I don't know if I was surprised or stunned, but I was certainly disappointed in our first period," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "We played a team that is obviously desperate. They came out there ready to play and we weren't ready to counter that and dug ourselves a big hole."
Brendan Gallagher scored off a backhand at 10:27 of the second period for the Canadiens before Patrick Maroon scored his first goal with the Devils at 11:36 on a power play for a 5-1 lead.
"[Maroon] has been a menace below the tops of the circle in the offensive zone, 5-on-5, and on the power play," Devils coach John Hynes said.
Brian Boyle scored his 12th of the season at 16:14 to give the Devils a 6-1 lead, and de la Rose scored at 19:47 to make it 6-2.

De la Rose scored his second of the game at 14:40 of the third period, and Byron Froese scored at 19:03 to make it 6-4.
"We got our game going a little bit in the second and seemed to get a little bit better in the third, but the damage was done," Julien said.
Keith Kinkaid made 29 saves for New Jersey.

Goal of the game

Maroon's goal at 11:36 of the second period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid's save against Gallagher at 14:04 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Zajac's goal at 18:08 of the first period.

They said it

"It's never fun to be in a losing atmosphere. Personally it's been tough, but it's been tougher on the team. We're going to learn from this experience and going to be better. We're going to close out the year working hard, competing, doing what we can to win and learn from it." -- Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw
"[Hall] has been on a mission and he's been our best player all year. He's brought momentum over these last 26 games for us, and he's grown as a leader and it's great to see." -- Devils center Travis Zajac on forward Taylor Hall
"[The streak] is fun to watch but we're trying to win games. [Hall] puts a lot of pressure on himself and he's an MVP candidate and should be at the top of the list. What he's done is remarkable. It's amazing to watch, but we're trying to win games and all trying to contribute and do our part." -- Devils center Brian Boyle on forward Taylor Hall

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Need to know

Defenseman Rinat Valiev, acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 25, played 16:42 in his debut with the Canadiens. ... Hall is the eighth player in NHL history to have at least one point in 26 straight games played. He established an NHL career-high with his 22nd multipoint game. ... The Devils hadn't scored at least six goals against the Canadiens since an 8-4 win on Oct. 6, 2000. … New Jersey went 3-for-5 on the power play.

What's next

Canadiens: At the Florida Panthers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Devils: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN3, NHL.TV)