Tomas Plekanec scored in overtime as the Montreal Canadiens beat the visiting New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday to snap a three-game losing skid.

Andrew Shaw scored for Canadiens (14-14-4) in regulation time. Carey Price, making his ninth straight start, made 31 saves.

Stefan Noesen scored the lone goal for the Devils (17-9-5), which remain third in the Metropolitan division. Cory Schneider stopped 34-of 36-shots in defeat.

Plekanec scored the winner at 1:52 of the extra period, beating Schneider five-hole after tremendous work along the boards by Charles Hudon to get him the puck in open ice.

The Habs ended their five-game homestand (2-2-1) on a positive note before they embark on a seven-game road trip, starting with Saturday's outdoor game against the Ottawa Senators to mark the NHL's 100th anniversary.

Playing their first game after a four-day break, the Canadiens showed some signs of rust, falling behind early.

New Jersey scored on its first shot of the contest at 1:21 after a defensive breakdown by the home side.

With a delayed penalty coming to Montreal, Noesen crossed the blue line unchallenged, took a short pass from captain Andy Greene and launched a wrist shot past Price to extend his point streak to five games.

Shaw, playing his 100th game in a Canadiens uniform, levelled the score at 13:31 of the first period when he deflected Jordie Benn's shot from the point through traffic past Schneider.

The Devils were without leading scorer Taylor Hall, who is day-to-day with a knee contusion sustained on Tuesday. Hall, who has 11 goals and 31 points this season, did not travel with the team to Montreal.

The visitors could have used Hall in the second period when the Canadiens took back-to-back penalties, but New Jersey failed to score on a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:05, thanks largely to shot blocking by Benn and Shea Weber.

Price made one big save on New Jersey's power play, stopping Drew Stafford on the doorstep while sprawled out on the ice.

Montreal upped the pressure in the final frame, outshooting New Jersey 13-7, but Schneider shut the door.