Brian Gionta scored twice and Georges Laraque got a standing ovation for his first goal as a Canadien as Montreal downed the slumping Dallas Stars 5-3 on Thursday night.
Gionta, playing his 500th NHL game, got the game-winner with his second of the night on a power play at 7:14 of the third as he swept in to score on the rebound off Benoit Pouliot's shot.
Pouliot and Mike Cammalleri also scored for Montreal (23-21-4), which has won eight of its last 12 games and is 2-0-1 thus far on a four-game homestand that ends Saturday against Ottawa.
Toby Petersen, Steve Ott and Mike Modano scored for the Stars (19-17-11), who have lost three in a row and six of their last seven games. Dallas, which ended a three-game road trip, is winless (0-7-2) in its last nine games on the road.
