Jets defeat Canadiens in overtime, gain in Central Division

MONTREAL -- The Winnipeg Jets moved within three points of first place in the Central Division with a 5-4 overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.
Kyle Connor scored with 2:00 remaining to give the Jets (50-20-10) their first 50-win season in franchise history.

"That's awesome," Connor said. "This group, it's so good, they push each other every day and everyone wants to strive to get better."
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Canadiens highlights]
Connor dropped the puck for Jack Roslovic and beat Carey Price with a one-timer from the slot on the return pass for his 30th goal, which leads NHL rookies.
"He's had three or four really good chances here in the last few games and he hasn't been able to get it to go, so now he can get back and relax a little with the puck," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said.

Patrik Laine scored his 44th goal,
Sami Niku
scored in his NHL debut and Steve Mason made 36 saves for the Jets, who are three points behind the Nashville Predators with two games remaining. The Predators lost to the Florida Panthers 2-1 on Tuesday.
"It was nice to get back out there from a personal standpoint," said Mason, who made his first start since March 6. "The game was back and forth. We had that three-goal lead and let them back into it, but coming out in overtime is the main thing and it puts us in a position to keep fighting hopefully for first place in our division."
Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron,
Kerby Rychel
and Alex Galchenyuk scored for Montreal (28-39-13), which lost its third in a row (0-2-1). Price made 27 saves in his 557th NHL game to move ahead of Jacques Plante for the most games by a goalie in Canadiens history.

Messages to Price from Patrick Roy and Ken Dryden were played on the video scoreboard when his record was announced in the first period.
"It was definitely an emotional moment for myself," Price said. "I didn't expect it to be, but that video and that ovation was something that I really needed. I'm really thankful and I really appreciate that."
Galchenyuk's power-play goal with 1:42 remaining in the third period drew Montreal even at 4-4 after Niku had given the Jets a 4-3 lead at 10:39 of the third.
Laine drove a one-timer past Price on the power play at 12:25 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. It was Laine's first point in eight games. He is two goals behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who leads the NHL with 46.
Nikolaj Ehlers made it 2-0 with his 29th goal on a pass from Paul Stastny at 14:19.

Roslovic, who did not dress for the eight previous games, made it 3-0 at 15:58 of the second.
Lehkonen shot between Mason's pads to cut the lead to 3-1 at 19:00.
Byron drew Montreal within 3-2 with his 20th goal at 3:19 of the third, and Rychel tied it at 3-3 at 10:15 with his first goal for the Canadiens.
"I appreciated the effort tonight," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "It's disappointing to lose, always a bit frustrating, especially the way the guys competed against a team that has a lot more depth than us."

Goal of the game

Connor's goal with 2:00 remaining in overtime.

Save of the game

Mason's save on Brendan Gallagher 22 seconds into overtime.

Highlight of the game

Laine's goal at 12:25 of the first period.

They said it

"That means you're a consistent hockey team. To get that many wins over the course [of the season], you can't have a lot of lulls. And we certainly did it while battling some injuries. We've had a lot of key guys out of our lineup." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice on their 50th win
"Through all the hard times that we've gone through this year, to have the crowd stand up and appreciate that, that really meant a lot to me." -- Canadiens goalie Carey Price said about the standing ovation he received

Need to know

The Jets are the eighth team in NHL history to have at least one rookie in consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals, and first since Sidney Crosby (2005-06) and Evgeni Malkin (2006-07) for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Laine scored 36 goals last season. … The Jets rested forwards Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, defensemen Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey and goalie Connor Hellebuyck. … Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin had an assist and has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games. … Gallagher has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past seven games.

What's next

Jets: Host the Calgary Flames on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, SNW, NHL.TV)
Canadiens: At the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)