DEVILS 3, CANADIENS 1: Captain Zach Parise scored his seventh goal in 10 games and Martin Brodeur turned aside 21 shots as visiting New Jersey moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference with the victory.

Defenseman Matt Taormina netted his first goal of the season and David Clarkson also tallied for the Devils, who improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 contests. The victory was the eighth straight for New Jersey at the Bell Centre.

Max Pacioretty scored a power-play goal to end Brodeur's bid for his 118th career shutout, but Montreal couldn't solve the four-time Vezina Trophy winner again and fell to 5-2-1 in its last eight games.

Parise opened the scoring with 1:57 remaining in the first period. After rookie Adam Henrique won a faceoff in the offensive end, Ilya Kovalchuk wired a shot which Parise deflected just inside the post for his 22nd goal of the season - and third in his last two games versus the Canadiens.

Clarkson doubled the advantage with 18 seconds left in the second period after he deflected Patrik Elias' shot past All-Star Carey Price.

After Pacioretty cleaned up a loose puck on the doorstep to trim the deficit, Taormina regained the two-goal advantage nearly seven minutes later by blasting a shot from beyond the right faceoff circle.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The memory of the late Gary Carter was honored prior to the game. The Canadiens came out for their pre-game warmup wearing jerseys with Carter's No. 8 on their backs. A video showed the Hall of Famer catcher during his days with the Montreal Expos - much to the pleasure of the crowd at the Bell Centre. A moment of silence was observed in Carter's memory. ... Brodeur continued his stellar play versus his hometown team by improving to 43-18-0 with five ties in his career.