Alex Galchenyuk gives Canadiens win in overtime

NEWARK, N.J. -- Alex Galchenyuk scored a power-play goal with 2:06 remaining in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.
The Canadiens overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-1 in the third period to win their second straight game.
"The two points were very important in the standings and I learned about the character we showed in the third," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "We have to realize that you can't just show up and start playing hockey in the final 20 minutes of every game, because you're not going to beat many teams that way."

WATCH: All Canadiens vs. Devils highlights
Galchenyuk scored his 14th of the season off a slap shot from the top of the right circle. Max Pacioretty had two goals, Alexander Radulov had a goal and three assists, and Al Montoya made 34 saves for the Canadiens (34-21-8).
Pacioretty is the first Montreal player since Guy Lafleur to score at least 30 goals in five seasons. In his 14 seasons with the Canadiens, Lafleur scored 30 goals seven times.
"I play with great teammates and great linemates," Pacioretty said. "That's what I can attribute my success too."

Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri each had a goal and an assist, John Moore scored and Cory Schneider made 29 saves for the Devils (25-25-12), who have lost four straight games (0-2-2).
"It's certainly a disappointing loss," Devils coach John Hynes said. "There were just some situations that wound up going in the back of the net and we ended up not winning the game."
Pacioretty tied it 3-3 with 51 seconds remaining in the third period and Montoya pulled for the extra attacker.
"Hats off to these guys to go out and do what we did," Montoya said. "This is the best time in the year. I've played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in my life, and right now, it's like the playoffs."

Zajac scored six seconds into a power play off his backhand to give the Devils a 3-1 lead 7:54 into the third period. Pacioretty scored his 30th of the season on a shot from the bottom of the right circle 43 seconds later to make it 3-2.
Moore gave the Devils a 2-0 lead on a slap shot from the point 2:38 into the third. Eleven seconds later, Radulov scored to pull the Canadiens within 2-1.
"The Radulov goal was the turning point with a great individual effort," Pacioretty said. "Sometimes when confidence is down, it takes that one play and that's why we signed him. I'm sure he's a game-changer, a difference-maker. It showed tonight."
Palmieri scored with 19 seconds remaining in the first to give the Devils a 1-0 lead.

Goal of the game

Radulov scored his first goal in seven games when he crossed the blue line and used Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy as a screen before beating Schneider 2:49 into the third period.

Save of the game

Montoya kept the Canadiens within 3-2 with 2:53 remaining in the third period when he stopped Stefan Noesen with a right-pad save from the slot.
"I'm just ready to play; whenever the team calls on me I'm ready," Montoya said. "Carey [Price] has been fantastic but you need two guys down the stretch."

Highlight of the game

Pacioretty scored his 31st goal of the season off a snap shot from the outside edge of the right circle that beat Schneider through a maze of players.
"There were a lot of bodies in front and I kind of came out of the corner with the puck and [Shea Weber] had pinched so I knew he wasn't going to be made available at the point," Pacioretty said. "I figured get it on net and see if I can get lucky."

Unsung performance of the game

Canadiens center Phillip Danault had three hits, three blocked shots and finished plus-2 in 19:44 of ice time.

They said it

"I told [Pacioretty] that if you lead by example you're going to be respected by all your teammates and that's the kind of leadership I could live with and appreciate. That's exactly what he's doing. He's leading by example and we need that from him." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien
"We didn't give up a whole lot over the first two periods, and did a lot of good things. We should've won, but that's the story of the week." -- Devils goaltender Cory Schneider

Need to know

The Canadiens acquired defenseman Jordie Benn in a trade with the Dallas Stars for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft prior to the game. ... Price is expected to start for Montreal against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. ... The Devils placed forward Pavel Zacha (concussion) on injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 21. ... Devils center Jacob Josefson sustained an upper-body injury with 4:57 remaining in the first period and did not return.

What's next

Canadiens: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, RDS, FS-O, NHL.TV)
Devils: At the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, CSN-DC, NHL.TV)