NHL: Montreal 5, NY Islanders 3

UNIONDALE, N.Y., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Christopher Higgins scored twice, and Saku Koivu and Sheldon Souray each had three assists Tuesday as Montreal beat the New York Islanders, 5-3.

Higgins had his eighth and ninth career NHL goals, as the Canadiens returned from the three-week Olympic break to record their fourth win in their last six games.

Alexander Perezhogin, Claude Rivet and Michael Ryder all scored and Cristobal Huet stopped 32-of-35 shots for the Canadiens.

Miroslav Satan scored twice and Brent Sopel had two assists for the Islanders, who have lost three of their last four games.

Garth Snow allowed three goals on 13 shots through two periods before being replaced by Rick DiPietro, who made seven saves.