Saku Koivu’s preseason prediction that the Montreal Canadiens were playoff worthy doesn’t seem so outrageous now.
Andrei Kostitsyn’s power-play goal late in the third period helped the host Montreal Canadiens edge New Jersey 2-1 on Saturday night and move past the Devils into first place in the Eastern Conference.
“It is a pleasant surprise for us and for a lot of people,” Koivu said. “There were some question marks for this team because of the young players coming from the minors, but those guys have done an excellent job coming in here and wanting a big role, not being happy just to be in the lineup.”
Mark Streit also scored for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row and seven of their past 10 to give them 81 points – one more than the Devils and Ottawa Senators.
Predators 3, Stars 1: David Legwand broke a scoreless tie early in the third period, and Nashville added two more goals in less than a minute to beat host Dallas to snap a three-game losing streak.
Senators 5, Penguins 4: Daniel Alfredsson had two goals and an assist, helping host Ottawa snap a three-game skid with the victory over Pittsburgh.
After winning six of eight, the Penguins have now lost four of five. The Senators won for just the third time in 10 games.
Bruins 3, Thrashers 2: Rookie David Krejci scored for the third consecutive game, sending host Boston past Atlanta for the Bruins’ sixth victory in a row.
Boston goaltender Tim Thomas stopped NHL goal-scoring leader Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta on a last-chance shootout attempt.
Maple Leafs 3, Capitals 2: Mats Sundin had a goal and two assists to lead Toronto past host Washington.
Bryan McCabe also had two assists for Toronto, which improved to 4-0-1 in its past five games.
Flyers 4, Islanders 1: Jeff Carter scored a goal and set up Mike Knuble’s short-handed tally in the third period as Philadelphia won its third in a row with the victory in New York.
Bill Guerin scored and Rick DiPietro made 27 saves for the Islanders, 1-3 following a six-game winning streak.
Hurricanes 5, Lightning 1: Sergei Samsonov had two goals, Eric Staal added a goal and two assists and host Carolina easily handled penalty-prone Tampa Bay.
Tuomo Ruutu, acquired at the trade deadline, scored his first goal for the Hurricanes.
Five players combined for five penalties for the Lightning.
Flames 3, Coyotes 1: Jarome Iginla scored twice, giving him his third 40-goal season, and Kristian Huselius added three assists to lead Calgary to the victory against host Phoenix.
Avalanche 5, Kings 2: Ryan Smyth scored two second-period goals then was taken off the ice on a stretcher after being checked into the boards, Jordan Leopold had three assists as Colorado halted a four-game home skid with the win over visiting Los Angeles.
Smyth was injured when Los Angeles defenseman Jack Johnson checked him into the glass at the end of the Avalanche bench late in the second period.
The Avalanche reported that Smyth was conscious and walking, but was sent to a hospital for further examination.
