Carey Price lost his temper after being bumped twice in his crease but made 19 saves to win the game as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Thursday night.
Torrey Mitchell, with two, Phillip Danault, Artturi Lehkonen and Max Pacioretty scored for the Canadiens (18-6-3) in their return from a five-game road trip.
Adam Henrique scored a goal and set up one by Taylor Hall for New Jersey (12-8-6), which ended a two-game winning run. The Devils return home to face St. Louis on Friday night.
Montreal had a season-high 49 shots on Cory Schneider.
A wild first period saw three goals scored, four goal reviews and Price's meltdown.
With 18 seconds left in the first period, Kyle Palmieri slid into Price's knees and the Canadiens goaltender jumped on him and started pounding him with his blocker. Price was pulled away in the ensuing melee. Palmieri got a minor for goalie interference while Price got four minutes for roughing, although he may have been lucky to avoid a match penalty which could lead to a suspension.
