Big defenceman Jarred Tinordi, in his NHL debut,
set up Tomas Plekanec's tiebreaking goal in the third period, and
the Montreal Canadiens extended their winning streak to five games
with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

Plekanec deflected a shot by the 6-foot-6 son of former NHL
defenceman Mark Tinordi past Johan Hedberg at 6:49 after the goalie
made an ill-advised clearing attempt from behind his net. Tinordi
got the puck above the left circle and let it fly.

Colby Armstrong also scored for Montreal, and Carey Price made 32
saves. The Canadiens moved into a tie with Pittsburgh for the most
points in the Eastern Conference.

Defenceman Peter Harrold scored for New Jersey, which lost for
the second time in two nights (0-1-1).
Tinordi, the Canadiens' first-round draft pick in 2010, was
recalled from Hamilton of the AHL on Thursday. He played a regular
shift with Francis Bouillon.

Price made Pekanec's 12th goal of the season stand up, stopping
18 shots in the third period. He made a chest save through traffic
on Patrik Elias with 1:24 left and stoned Adam Henrique and Travis
Zajac in close in the final minute.

Armstrong snapped a 39-game goal drought, dating to February
2012, to give the Canadiens the lead at 8:08 of the first period.
Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov lost his footing shortly after
a faceoff. Armstrong retrieved the puck, skated into the right
circle and ripped a shot past Hedberg, who made his career-high 12
straight start in place of the injured Martin Brodeur.