Devils defeat Canadiens, gain in Eastern wild-card race

MONTREAL --The New Jersey Devils gained ground in the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sunday.
Taylor Hall scored a shorthanded goal at 15:53 of the third period to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead. Travis Zajac sent a stretch pass to Hall, who came out of the penalty box after Montreal had a two-man advantage for 52 seconds, and he beat Carey Price blocker side on a breakaway.

"If I've been in the penalty box 100 times in my career, that's only happened once or twice, where you get a clear breakaway like that," Hall said. "So, you spend two minutes feeling shame and trying to think about what you're going to do when you get out, and you get a breakaway chance like that after a great kill by our guys.
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Canadiens highlights\]
"I just tried to do the best I can, and use a quick shot. He's such a good goalie. He's one of the best goalies of all time, and if I can shoot before he's ready, that's kind of what I was thinking right there."
Keith Kinkaid made 25 saves for the Devils (42-28-9), who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East by seven points over the Florida Panthers, who have two games in hand.
"What [Kinkaid] does is incredible, too, and it gives us a chance to win games," Devils forward Nico Hischier said. "It's not just one guy, it's a whole team that believes and just sticks up for each other and battles for each other."

New Jersey is one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the first wild card and one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
"You can't get too wrapped up in those situations," Devils coach John Hynes said. "And I think that we need to make sure that our focus level is on our game and where we're going, and making sure that we're ready to continue to play, and not get too high with the highs and too low with the lows."
Daniel Carr scored for the Canadiens (28-39-12).
Price, who made 30 saves, tied Jacques Plante for most games played by a goaltender in Canadiens history (556).

"I'm definitely proud of it," Price said. "You know, getting drafted, you don't know how your career is going to unfold. And I'm disappointed right now because of the loss, but definitely proud of being able to wear the CH for that long."
Hischier redirected Sami Vatanen's shot from the right point inside the left post 26 seconds into the third period to tie it 1-1.
Carr gave Montreal a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal with nine seconds remaining in the first period, beating Kinkaid with a wrist shot from the slot on a 3-on-2. Hynes challenged the goal for offside, but the call was upheld after video review.
"I think all in all, we did a pretty good job against them," Carr said. "I mean, they play fast, they come at you quick and they've got a lot of skill. So, I think all in all, we did a pretty good job of slowing them down and being in their place, but a couple of breaks and from us, we've just got to learn from it."

Goal of the game

Hall's goal at 15:53 of the third period.

Save of the game

Kinkaid's save on Brendan Gallagher at 13:45 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Hischier's goal 26 seconds into the third period.

They said it

"It was just a great kill by our 5-on-3 group. That's a huge part of the game and a huge time in the game, and to see those guys rally around and really get a great kill, I just tried to do my part and scored a shorty there. I'm not much of a shorthanded threat, but it's nice to get one there." -- Devils forward Taylor Hall
"I think we can play better than we did (Saturday) and tonight, and that's something that we have to address and be better on Tuesday." -- Devils coach John Hynes
"It's a nice moment, and it's quite a feat as well. He has been here for a long time, he's played a lot of games, and I think the players were extremely proud and probably disappointed that we couldn't win that important game for him." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien on Carey Price tying Jacques Plante's record for most games played by a Montreal goalie

Need to know

Hall has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) during an eight-game point streak. … New Jersey leads the NHL with 12 shorthanded goals. … Price has 286 wins, three behind Patrick Roy for second place in Canadiens history.

What's next

Devils: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG 2, NHL.TV)
Canadiens:Host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, TSN3, NHL.TV)