NHL: Montreal 3, New Jersey 1

NEWARK, N.J., April 2 (UPI) -- Mathieu Darche scored two goals and Carey Price made 20 saves Saturday in the Montreal Canadiens' 3-1 win over New Jersey.

Darche gave the Habs a 1-0 lead in the first period and made it 3-0 early in the third, helping Montreal strengthen its hold on the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.

Price stopped nine shots in the middle period and improved to 38-26-6.

P.K. Subban also scored for Montreal.

Ilya Kovalchuk got the only goal for New Jersey and Martin Brodeur turned aside 26 shots in the Devils' loss.