NEW YORK, 22 March 2004 — Jose Theodore made 33 saves and Michael Ryder had a goal and an assist as the streaking Canadiens downed the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in Montreal on Saturday.
The Canadiens took three of four points from the Devils in the weekend back-to-back series and as a result moved into a sixth place tie in the Eastern Conference standings with New Jersey.
Both teams have 90 points, as the Canadiens also prevented the defending Stanley Cup champions Devils from clinching a playoff spot. Martin Brodeur was also once again denied his 400th career win. He made 22 saves but remained stuck at 399 career wins as he looks to become the youngest NHL goalie to reach that milestone.
Jim Dowd and Alexei Kovalev scored the other goals for the Canadiens, who are also on the verge of wrapping up a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. John Madden and Sergei Brylin scored the goals for the Devils, who out-shot the Canadiens 35-25.
Brylin scored after Kovalev’s empty-net mark in the final minute to make it close.
The teams battled to a 1-1 tie in East Rutherford on Friday night, with the Devils carrying the play for most of that game as well.
In other games, Michael Nylander scored his first goal of the season in the third period as the Boston Bruins edged the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in an Eastern Conference showdown. Robert Esche made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season, giving the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-0 win over the New York Rangers.
Mike Modano had a goal and an assist to help the Dallas Stars extend their franchise record home unbeaten streak to 17 games with a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.
Owen Nolan scored a pair of goals as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Bret Hedican scored with one minute remaining in overtime to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Andy Sutton scored a pair of goals as the Atlanta Thrashers managed a 2-2 tie with the Washington Capitals. Martin Biron made 23 saves as the Buffalo Sabres edged the Florida Panthers 2-1. Sergei Zholtok had a goal and an assist as the Nashville Predators edged the Calgary Flames 3-1.
