EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Joe Nieuwendyk scored twice in the third period Tuesday night to lead New Jersey to a 3-2 victory over Montreal.
It was his first two-goal game for the Devils, who rallied over the road-weary Canadiens.
No team has more one-goal wins than New Jersey (14), which also shares the league lead with four victories when trailing after two periods. Nieuwendyk added another win to both totals, matching his goal total for the previous 30 games.
The two-time 50-goal scorer forged a 2-2 tie with 13:24 remaining. After breaking down the slot, he got a no-look backhanded pass from rookie Christian Berglund and steered the puck past goaltender Jeff Hackett.
Just over three minutes later, Hackett was taken out behind the net by Jeff Friesen, who set up Nieuwendyk's 499th NHL goal.
Nieuwendyk again moved through the slot and put the puck into a vacated net to move past Glenn Anderson into 22nd place on the all-time goal-scoring list.
Montreal native Martin Brodeur made the lead stand with 20 saves, improving to 23-10-4 against the Canadiens.
Defenseman Stephane Quintal and rookie Marcel Hossa scored for Montreal, which was 0-4-1-2 on a road trip that featured five one-goal losses.
