Elias' record goals help Devils beat Habs, spoil Cunneyworth's coaching debut

MONTREAL - Even after the shock of a coaching change, things remained the same for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens held a 15-minute players-only meeting in their dressing room after Randy Cunneyworth's head coaching debut was spoiled by the same kind of third period letdown that ushered his predecessor Jacques Martin out the door.

David Clarkson tied the game late in the second period and Patrick Elias and Dainius Zubrus scored in the third as the New Jersey Devils downed the Canadiens 5-3 on Saturday night.

"It's a frustrated group of players," said Cunneyworth, who had been promoted that morning when Martin was fired after too many similar losses at home, where Montreal is now 5-7-6 for the season. "They know it's not enough.

"They were up against a good team but I thought they were up for the task. I know it was a letdown in the end."

Boos filled the Bell Centre as the game wound down on Cunneyworth's first game as an NHL head coach.

Elias passed John McLean as the Devils' all-time goal-scoring leader with his 347th and 348th, while Peter Sykora also scored for New Jersey (18-13-1).

Montreal (13-13-7) started the day in 11th place and fell further out of playoff position. Now they are relived to be heading out on a six-game road trip.

"We wanted to start fresh and it's the same story over again," said centre Lars Eller. "But there are still a lot of games left and we have to pull ourselves together and figure out a way to win."

Cunneyworth made small adjustments from Martin's routine, including placing more trust in a young centre like Eller and his linemates Louis Leblanc and Mathieu Darche. The team looked a little more adventurous on attack, while ice tme between the top three lines was more evenly distributed.

Eller and defencemen P.K. Subban and Chris Campoli scored for the Canadiens.

Campoli was also the goat on the game-winner, as he was stripped of the puck in the slot and Elias finished a give-and-go with Sykora 1:31 into the third period. Cunneyworth said it was not all Campoli's fault.

"We have to be better positionally," he said. "I don't think we gave him a good out, a good target. But we tell them to use the glass if they don't see anything."

Sykora picked up the puck for Elias' record goal.

"It just feels nice," said career Devil Elias. "It feels like you're doing something right and it keeps me going. Hopefully I have a lot more in me."

Zubrus sealed the win with a power-play goal at 10:18.

"Part of the reason for the changes was exactly what we did tonight," said defenceman Josh Gorges. "At some point we have to take ownership upon ourselves and understand it's not good enough."

He said it may help the team to be on the road over the holiday period. They have a winning record (8-6-1) away from home.

"It's a chance to be together as a group and focus on hockey," he said. "And on the road, you don't have to be pretty. You can just win games. We've done that a lot on the road and hopefully we can gain the confidence we need and apply it to home ice."

The Devils were coming off an emotional 6-3 victory over Dallas on Friday night, when legendary defenceman Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 jersey was retired.

The Canadiens hoped to take advantage by jumping on the Devils early, but New Jersey had the first seven shots and got the opening goal when Zubrus' shot went in off Sykora past a screened Carey Price.

Montreal took three penalties in the first period, the last one a minor on Erik Cole for a hit to the head of rookie rearguard Adam Larsson, who was reaching forward for a puck behind his net when Cole's shoulder contacted his helmet. Larsson was not hurt and stayed in the game, but it will likely be looked at by NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

Montreal was on a two-man advantage when Subban scored on a point blast 2:21 into the second period. Tomas Kaberle picked up his fifth point in four games as a Canadien with an assist.

Elias got it back when he sneaked in from behind the net to pound Ilya Kovalchuk's pass into an open side on a power play at 5:05.

Campoli got his first as a Canadien on a shot from the slot at 6:33 and Eller scored from the slot at 8:57, but Clarkson tied it at 18:26 after taking a perfect stretch pass from Larsson and beating Price with a wrist shot.

Notes: Defenceman Raphael Diaz (sick) and forward Travis Moen (lower body) each sat out a second game for Montreal. . . Henrik Tallinder (back spasms) missed a second game for New Jersey, while Tim Sestito and Alexander Urbom were scratched. . . The NHL's two best penalty killing teams were in action, but New jersey gave up one and Montreal two on the power play.