NHL: Jakob Markstrom blanks Canadiens, keeps Devils' playoff hopes alive

New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom posted his first shutout of the season as the visiting Devils beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 on Sunday to snap the hosts' eight-game winning streak.

Timo Meier, Cody Glass and Connor Brown scored for the Devils (40-34-3, 83 points) to keep their razor-thin playoff hopes alive.

Markstrom made 18 saves to record the 25th shutout of his career, including a pair of highlight-reel stops that prevented dynamic Montreal forward Cole Caufield from reaching the 50-goal mark.

The Devils are seven points outside a playoff spot with five games remaining, and exacted a hint of revenge after losing a 4-3 shootout game to Montreal on Saturday.

New Jersey has won 11 straight games in Montreal, a streak that started April 1, 2018.

Canadiens No. 3 goalie Jacob Fowler stopped 17 shots in the loss.

Montreal (45-22-10, 100 points) punched a ticket to the playoffs before the puck dropped, but fell to the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

The Canadiens are tied with Buffalo -- two points back of the Tampa Bay Lightning -- but the Sabres own the tiebreaker with more regulation-time wins. Tampa Bay has six games remaining, while Montreal and Buffalo have five in the chase for the division title.

On a quest to avenge losing the night before, the Devils came out strong and were rewarded when Meier opened the scoring 47 seconds past the midway point of the opening frame. Jack Hughes weaved around the zone before firing a shot on net, and Meier was on the spot to slide home the loose puck.

Glass doubled the lead late in the second period when he hit the jets while on a two-on-two rush, gained a step past defender Michael Matheson and slipped a wrist shot home at 18:12 of the middle frame.

Brown added an empty-net goal with 3:25 remaining in regulation time.

The Canadiens had plenty of scoring chances, especially during four fruitless power plays

With a pair of assists, Devils forward Jack Hughes has collected 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 20 games following the Olympic break.

-Field Level Media/Reuters