The previous game, a 4-0 loss Washington, I described as unintelligent. Head coach Brent Sutter ensured a more competitive match in the second half of a back-to-back stretch, yet the Devils fell for the third straight game, 2-1 to Montreal, in front of a soldout raucous crowd of 21,273 at the Bell Centre.

Both teams worked hard in the first period, with the Devils leading 13-8 in shots on goal. However, after 20 minutes of action, the game remained scoreless.

At 4:14 of the second period, Devils defenseman Mike Mottau committed a hooking infraction, his second minor of the contest, leading to the Canadiens No. 1-ranked power play. With three seconds left on the power play, Mark Streit whacked a mid-air rebound by goaltender Martin Brodeur. Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev assisted on Streit's 12th at 6:11.

However, the Devils tied the contest less than eight minutes later.

Finally, the Devils drew their first power play of the game, a slashing on Christopher Higgins. That lasted 42 seconds before Zach Parise inexplicably committed a hooking penalty, evening the sides at four apiece.

In an odd sequence of events and both teams skating 4-on-4, the Canadiens skaters believed their netminder covered the puck. However, Brian Gionta discovered the disc hiding adjacent to Price, easily backhanding it into the empty net. Defensemen Mike Mottau and Colin White added helpers on Gionta's 18th at 13:37. In fact, Gionta's tally snapped the team's 133:23 scoreless streak dating back to Tuesday night. Yep, their efforts beared no fruit in over two full contests worth of hockey.

Thank goodness, the Devils killed off the remainder of Zach Parise's penalty, and Bryce Salvador's holding bullshit later in the period that carried over into the final frame. I understood the referee's call on Parise, who slashed his opponent in center ice, but that whistle on Salvador seemed like horse shit to me. This game decided first place in the Eastern Conference. Why place it in the hands of the zebras rather than the players' hands???

After two periods, the Devils led 23-16 in shots on net, including one power play, yet scored once. That's unacceptable. Alright, I won't rant that much because they just finished a nine-game point streak, 7-0-2, but have since fallen off the face of the earth. In the last three games, they've netted merely two goals. They maintained plenty of chances in the Canadiens' zone on Saturday but could not finish. And, to make matters worse, New Jersey faced Price, a 20-year-old unproven rookie who started just his 29th career game. Price earned his third straight win, advancing Montreal into the Eastern Conference lead, one point ahead of New Jersey and Ottawa, who defeated Pittsburgh 5-4 earlier in the day.

Back to the third period. Uch........ The referees called another penalty on New Jersey, a cross check on Mike Rupp, who aggressively shoved Andrei Markov face first into the Habs' net. It reminded me of NBA refs who ruin games by calling whimpy fouls and not letting the players compete. It not only slows down the game, it also takes away the excitement. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy power plays, when there is a legitimate penalty, not some questionable call. Coming into the game, both teams completed 65 contests with 17 left on the schedule. Every game from here on end is so crucial, especially considering that merely eight points separate the first and eighth playoff seed in the conference. Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record alluded to the questionable call on Rupp as well as the Star Ledger via staff and wire reports, and, of course, Gulitti's Fire and Ice blog,a must read for all Devils fans. However, Montreal papers simply discussed Price's effort and the Canadiens' 81-points, placing them in the driver's seat past the All-Star Break for the first time since 1993, also the last time the French-Canadiens celebrated the Cup.

Price made 31 saves, outdoing the legendary Brodeur, who stopped 23 shotsm aking his 25th consecutive start between the pipes. Sutter has not handed over the reins to reserver netminder Kevin Weekes since Jan. 5.

Somehow, the refs sent captain Jamie Langenbrunner to the box during Rupp's penalty, giving Montreal a 5-on-3 for 1:31, more than enough time for the Habs to capitalize. Langs barely touched the opposing player's jersey, yet the ref raised his arm, as Devils head coach Brent Sutter echoed, "What the fuck?" so loud I even felt his anger and disgust in the states. I know that Devils fans who made the trip thought the exact same thing.

But, the Devils penalty killers ensured that cheaters never prosper, until another fucking wraparound on Brodeur.

If there's one move in hockey that every Devils player should memorize and prevent, it's the fucking wraparound. It practically haunts me in my sleep, watching Stephane Matteau in game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Fuck.

Okay. Andrei Kostitsyn pulled a Matteau and now the Habs led 2-1. Tomas Plekanec and Christopher Higgins assisted on Kostitsyn's 20th with 5:43 left in regulation.

But, there is enough time to score again, especially since Mike Komisarek committed a minor penalty 17 seconds after his Habs recaptured the lead. But, New Jersey manufactured just one shot on the most important power play of the game. Give credit to Price and the Habs' penalty killers who fought off the Devils onslaught. But, I noticed Elias fall in the offensive zone, something that's been plaguing the Devils since the beginning of the season. And, let's not forget that Johnny Oduya lost the puck at the blue line, essentially dampening the power play chances.

In addition, Sutter altered the lines, moving Gionta to the checking unit and replacing an injured Paul Martin with Karel Rachunek in the lineup.

Another embarrassing moment occurred in the final two minutes. The Devils could not move the puck out of their defensive zone. They finally regrouped before Elias turned the puck over and nearly cost his team any chance of earning at least one point.

But, Gionta somehow handled the puck, blasting a slapshot on Price. After Price covered, the officials blew a whistle, but replays indicated that Komisarek cross checked Langenbrunner multiple times in front of Price. Yet, Elias and Komisarek earned roughing penalties with 12 seconds left in regulation. Sutter used his only timeout, but the Habs cleared and earned a hard-fought win over the Devils, who owned the Habs on the road since 2004.

After securing nine straight wins over the Canadiens, including one earlier this season, Brodeur lost for the second consecutive time to his hometown rivals. (His parents raised him in Montreal, Quebec).

New Jersey stayed in Canada after the contest, visiting Toronto on Tuesday before hosting Tampa Bay on Friday night at the Prudential Center.

Montreal travels to San Jose for a Monday night faceoff before finishing the four-game Western Conference road trip at Phoenix, Los Angeles and Anaheim.

New Jersey won the faceoff battle 29-24 and took more shots (32) on net than Montreal (25) although the referees assessed four more penalties to the Devils, including two in a 29-second span.

Afterwards, Sutter expressed his feelings towards the men in black and white.

"Both calls upset me," Sutter told reporters in the press conference. "The fact that the first call was called five seconds after the incident happens and because the fans yell. If it's a penalty, call it right away. And I just watched the video and I still don't know where the second call came from. To put a team down two men with seven minutes to go in a game like tonight, that's why I don't get paid the big money to be an official."

I wholeheartedly agree with Sutter's reaction to the contest. Although his team could not fucking score, the refs turned this contest into a non-contest. They eliminated several crucial minutes of even strength opportunities for both clubs, who threatened throughout the game. By eliminating the even strength play, the refs played right into the NHL league executives who passed resolutions to increase penalty calling this season.

After this contest, the league will likely fine and reprimand Sutter for his comments. Fuck them. I hope that team owner Jeff Vanderbeek picks up the tab. Sutter expressed his honest opinion about the deterioration of the quality of the referees in today's league. Sutter's comments also opened up a pandora's box for coaches across the league to share their views about the league in general. The game requires solid reffing and officiating rather than questionable calls each and every night from a plethora of the guys wearing black and white. Again, fuck them and fuck Bettman. I hope he rarely sees a paycheck.

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