The Montreal Canadiens became the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a playoff berth after they staved off a late comeback bid by the Ottawa Senators in a wild 7-5 victory.

The triumph moved the conference-leading Canadiens seven points ahead of the second-placed Senators in the Northeast Division and three points in front of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern race.

The victory means Montreal (96 points from 77 games) cannot be caught by the ninth-placed Washington Capitals in the conference, thus assuring the Canadiens a return to the playoffs after narrowly missing last year's post-season.

"This is a huge relief," defenseman Francis Bouillon said.

"I've been here for eight years and this is the first time we haven't had to scratch and claw our way into the playoffs. It makes it even sweeter to do it against our nemesis, the Senators."

Twelve months ago, Montreal was eliminated from playoff contention on the last day of the regular season but has put together a 43-24-10 record this season.

As the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens join the already-qualified Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks from the West.

"Being the first to do it is a real accomplishment for a young team like ours and a real credit to this group," Montreal captain Saku Koivu said.

The win did not come easy, though.

Sparked by Andrei Kostitsyn's two goals, the Canadiens scored three times in the first period to chase Ottawa netminder Martin Gerber from the game and added four more in the second against Ray Emery for a 7-1 lead.

However, the Senators stormed back with four goals in the third.

Chris Higgins collected the other first-period goal with Bouillon, Andrei Markov, Mikhail Grabovski and Tom Kostopoulos scoring in the second.

Dany Heatley scored twice for Ottawa in the third with Martin Lapointe and Jason Spezza getting the other goals.

Spezza's powerplay score came with 1:58 to play, creating some anxious final moments for the Canadiens.

"Now it's time to focus on our second objective: grabbing that top spot in our conference," Kostopoulos said.

Reuters