Alex Kovalev had two goals and an assist and Carey Price made 34 saves to lift Montreal to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Bruins and push the Canadiens back into first place in the Eastern Conference on Thursday.
Montreal beat the Bruins for the 10th straight time, including all seven meetings this season, and tied a franchise record for the most consecutive wins against Boston.
That mark was set in the 1944-1945 season.
PHOTO: AP
The Canadiens moved one point ahead of the idle New Jersey Devils in the race for the top seed in the East playoffs. The seventh-place Bruins are clinging to a playoff position but are only two points ahead of Buffalo, which is on the outside of the postseason race.
SENATORS 3, BLUES 2
At Ottawa, Jason Spezza scored his 31st goal and Martin Gerber stopped 24 shots to lead Ottawa over St. Louis.
Antoine Vermette and Christoph Schubert also scored for Ottawa, fifth in the Eastern Conference with 89 points, two more than the New York Rangers.
The Senators remained three points behind Montreal, the leader in the Northeast Division and the East.
Jamal Mayers and Jeff Woywitka scored 2:44 apart midway through the first period to give St. Louis a short-lived 2-1 lead.
PENGUINS 4, LIGHTNING 2
At Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Pittsburgh moved into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Jarkko Ruutu, Jordan Staal and Petr Sykora also scored for the Penguins, who have won four of five and beat Tampa Bay at home for the first time since Nov. 2, 2002 -- a span of eight games.
Pittsburgh and New Jersey both have 91 points, one fewer than Eastern Conference-leading Montreal.
Filip Kuba and Vincent Lecavalier each had a goal and an assist and Jussi Jokinen had two assists for the Lightning, who have the conference's worst record.
RED WINGS 6, PREDATORS 3
At Nashville, Tennessee, Johan Franzen's third-period goal broke a tie and sent Detroit over Nashville.
Niklas Kronwall, Chris Chelios, and Brian Rafalski each scored second-period goals for the Red Wings, and Pavel Datsyuk added an insurance tally late in the third. Dominik Hasek earned his 385th NHL victory, tying him for 10th place with Mike Vernon on the career list.
The Red Wings are one win away from 50 this season. Nashville lost its franchise record-tying sixth consecutive home game.
FLAMES 2, AVALANCHE 1
At Calgary, Alberta, Daymond Langkow and Craig Conroy scored first-period, power-play goals, and Calgary beat Colorado in a pivotal Northwest Division clash.
The Flames move two points ahead of Colorado and into a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with Vancouver.
After a disappointing 1-3 road trip, Calgary played as it did before leaving home.
The Flames are 5-0-2 in their last seven at home.
In other games it was:
* Canucks 4, Oilers 1
* Kings 6, Coyotes 5, SO
* Hurricanes 2, Panthers 1, SO
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