Canadiens nab playoff berth

MONTREAL (AP) — Andrei Kostitsyn scored two of Montreal’s three first-period goals and the Canadiens clinched a playoff spot with a 7-5 win over the Ottawa Senators Monday night.

Chris Higgins also scored in the first as Montreal beat Martin Gerber three times in the opening period while outshooting Ottawa 14-7.

The Canadiens added four goals in the second as Francis Bouillon, Andrei Markov, Mikhail Grabovski and Tom Kostopoulos scored on Ray Emery, who replaced Gerber to begin the middle period.

Carey Price stopped 31 shots for Montreal, which returned to the playoffs for just the fourth time in the past nine seasons.

The Canadiens, who were eliminated from playoff contention last season with a loss in Toronto in their final regular season game, lead the Eastern Conference with 96 points and five games remaining.