The Montreal Canadiens moved back into first place in the Eastern Conference after beating the New Jersey Devils 4-0, with rookie goaltender Carey Price stopping 38 shots.

The Devils held a one point lead over the Canadiens coming into the game but could not get the puck past Price, firing 33 of their 38 shots in the first two periods.

Price, 20, moved to 5-2 since Montreal traded Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline and put their faith in a rookie netminder. He now has two shutouts.

Bryan Smolinski and Finn Saku Koivu scored first period goals. Maxim Lapierre added another in the second and Michael Ryder rounded off the win in the third period to give the Canadiens their third successive win over the Devils.

Smolinski's goal was his 19th in 45 career games against New Jersey.

"They play a disciplined style, and you have to do the same," he said.

Martin Brodeur made his 29th successive start for New Jersey, making 28 saves but his team saw their three-game winning streak stopped. Brodeur allowed only three goals in those three games and was beaten by Smolinski from a sharp angle.

"The bottom line is he's still one of the best in the game," Smolinski said.

"Tom Kotsopoulos did a good job of giving me some room and getting the pass to me. Did I fool Brodeur? I think I fooled myself."

The Canadiens won the game after returning from a 2-2 west coast trip.

New Jersey, who have a one-point lead over the idle Pittsburgh Penguins atop the Atlantic Division, have scored just 12 goals in their last eight games but have gone 4-3-1 over that span.

Goalie Chris Osgood stopped a Robert Lang penalty shot and Pavel Datsyuk scored the deciding goal as the Detroit Red Wings won their fourth game in a row, beating the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 3-1.

Detroit has the best record in the league by a margin despite a recent stretch of one win in 11 games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rallied from a 3-0 third period deficit and won in overtime, with Pavel Kubina scoring with 56 seconds remaining for a 4-3 home victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kubina also scored during the comeback. The Flyers lost a valuable point in the playoff hunt despite 51 saves by goalie Martin Biron.

Dany Heatley had a hat-trick and an assist when the Ottawa Senators beat the visiting Boston Bruins 4-1. The Bruins have one win in their last six games.

The Colorado Avalanche moved into a tie for first place in the Northwest Division with a 5-2 road victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

Joe Sakic and rookie David Jones both had a goal and two assists and Andrew Brunette scored twice.

Vincent Lecavalier had a hat trick when the Tampa Bay Lightning scored an 8-4 home win over the New York Islanders.

Reuters