The Canadiens entered the Prudential Center for Thursday night's game having posted an atrocious 0-8-2 record in their previous 10 games against the Devils. And heading into the contest, Martin Brodeur held an impressive 28-7-3 record against the Canadiens over the course of his illustrious career.

The Canadiens contested that they had the worst luck playing against the Devils, especially with Brodeur in net. “It always seems Marty plays unbelievable against us," Christopher Higgins said of playing against Brodeur. "It’s pretty discouraging actually. You can play well as a team, but if you’re not getting pucks past him, you’re not going to win.”

Thursday night, luck was on the side of the Canadiens, as they came back from a 3-1 deficit after the second period to defeat Brodeur and the Devils 4-3.

Patrik Elias started the scoring in the first period at 12:18, scoring the first of two power play goals for the Devils, his 13th goal of the season. His second goal of the game would come at 3:24 in the second period.

The Canadiens’ Bryan Smolinski was able to surprise Brodeur with a wrist shot through the five-hole at 14:12 in the middle stanza, giving Montreal their first goal of the game, his 4th goal of the season. Seventeen seconds in to a five-on-three power play, the Devils scored their third and final goal of the night with a slap shot from Jamie Langenbrunner at 17:02, his eighth goal of the season.

Immediately following, a bench penalty was issued to the Canadiens, and the Devils were awarded another five-on-three. The Devils’ power play in recent games has picked up dramatically, as they continued their scoring during the man advantage. Of the three goals they scored in Thursday night’s contest, two came on the power play. But this time, the Habs' penalty-killers held strong.

In the third period, Smolinski scored his second goal of the game making it a one-goal deficit twenty-nine seconds in, his 5th goal of the season. Saku Koivu tied up the game at 11:54 from a deflection off of a shot from Mike Komisarek. Montreal would completely own the third period and end their streak of bad luck against the Devils as Higgins notched the game winner at 14:31, his 16th goal of the season.

Devils Notes

David Clarkson was named to the NHL YoungStars team for the Eastern Conference during the NHL All-Star Weekend, replacing the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Tyler Kennedy. The Dodge/NHL SuperSkills competition airs at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 26th and the NHL All-Star Game airs on Sunday, January 27th on Versus.

With the loss, the Devils slid into second place in the Atlantic Division, while the Philadelphia Flyers (who are tied with the Devils with 59 points) moved past them into first in the Atlantic and second place in the Eastern Conference. The Devils are now in fifth place in the conference as the NHL heads into the All-Star weekend. The Devils resume their schedule when the Pittsburgh Penguins head to “The Rock” on Tuesday.