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Taylor Hall scores shorthanded, lifts Devils to 2-1 win over Canadiens

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MONTREAL — Taylor Hall scored a short-handed goal late in the third period as the visiting New Jersey Devils came from behind to beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Sunday.

Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils (42-28-9). Keith Kinkaid, making his sixth consecutive start, stopped 25-of-26 shots.

Daniel Carr scored for the Canadiens (28-39-12), who have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Playing his 556th game with Montreal, Carey Price tied Jacques Plante for most games by a goaltender in team history. He made 30 saves in defeat.

As time expired on a New Jersey too-many-men penalty, which saw the Canadiens play 51 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey, Hall emerged from the penalty box, took a pass from Travis Zajac and beat Price blocker side on the breakaway at 15:53 of the third for his 37th goal of the year.

The Devils, which have not qualified for the playoffs since 2012, remain in the thick of the playoff race. New Jersey has a seven-point lead over the Florida Panthers for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida has two games in hand.

Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back series. Montreal lost 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday while New Jersey beat the New York Islanders 4-3.

The Canadiens finished 4-8-2 this season in the second game of a back-to-back.

Carr scored a contentious goal in the first period for the 28th-place Habs.

With the Canadiens on a fast break on the power play, Carr took a pass from Artturi Lehkonen in the slot and fired a slap shot, glove side on Kinkaid, in the top corner of the net.

Devils coach John Hynes felt Carr was offside on the play and challenged the call on the ice, but the goal stood.

Defenceman Mike Reilly, playing his 100th NHL game, got an assist on Carr's goal.

After a scoreless second, Hischier tied things up 26 seconds into the third period. With his back to the goal, Hischier got the blade of his stick on a shot from Sami Vatanen and deflected the puck past Price.

Hischier, the only Devils player to dress for all 79 games this year, nearly gave the visitors the lead on two occasions in the third. The 2017 first-overall draft pick was stopped by Price on a breakaway before hitting the post a minute later.

Notes: Kerby Rychel, 23, recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket on Friday, made his Montreal Canadiens debut. … There was a moment of silence before the game for former Montreal Expos star Rusty Staub, who passed away Thursday.

Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press


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