Darche, Halak lead Canadiens past N.J.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens beat the New Jersey Devils at their own game by combining sharp goaltending and timely goals.

Halak made 31 saves, and Mathieu Darche had the go-ahead tally and an assist as the Canadiens ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win on Friday night.

Usually in this series, Martin Brodeur makes the key stops and the Devils come through with clutch goals. Brodeur didn’t play poorly, stopping 21 shots in his 28th straight start, but he dropped to 36-16-5 against his hometown Canadiens.

Halak was the goalie star on this night as he beat Brodeur and the Devils for the first time in his career (1-2-1).

“It’s great to win a game, especially against the Devils,” Halak said. “We didn’t give up, and stuck to the game plan.”

Benoit Pouliot and Michael Cammalleri also scored for Montreal.