Montreal’s Overtime Pay Is a Victory

The Montreal Canadiens took a chance on rookie goalie Jose Theodore and the move kept their season alive.

Theodore’s 56 saves and a goal from Patrice Brisebois at 7:37 of the third overtime gave the Canadiens a 4-3 home victory Thursday night over the New Jersey Devils.

“Sports is like that,” Montreal Coach Mario Tremblay said. “Theodore got a chance and he grabbed it.”

Montreal staved off elimination from its Eastern Conference first-round series and forced a fifth game Saturday night in New Jersey. The Devils lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1.

The victory came two days after a weak performance from No. 1 goaltender Jocelyn Thibault in a 6-4 defeat. Tremblay said he decided Wednesday to try Theodore, who had not played since he was pulled from a game against Ottawa on March 29.

“I thought Jocelyn was a little nervous,” Tremblay said.

“The playoffs are fun,” Theodore said. “The pressure’s there.

“Every hockey player likes that. And if we can get a sixth game back here, that would be the perfect scenario.”

Former Canadien Lyle Odelein forced overtime with a goal at 18:24 of the third period on a shot from the left side that went off Shayne Corson’s stick and in off the goalpost.

The teams traded chances through 47 minutes of overtime before Brisebois got the puck back from Saku Koivu on a give-and-go, stopped the puck with his foot and shoveled a backhand shot past Martin Brodeur.

The Devils took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Scott Niedermayer and Patrick Elias. Montreal tied it on disputed goals by Mark Recchi in the second period and Turner Stevenson at 2:41 of the third.

Recchi, with his second of the game, put Montreal ahead at 5:03 of the third.

Down by two goals, Recchi made a pass across the crease that went off defenseman Shawn Chambers’s arm and stick before--as replays showed--just crossing the goal line at 7:42 of the second period.

Montreal tied it 2-2 at 2:41 of the third period when Stevenson, charging in on goal, was tripped by Dave Ellett. Stevenson, the puck and Brodeur all ended up in the New Jersey net.

Replay judges called it a goal.

The Devils outshot Montreal, 59-41, and much of the crowd of 21,051 had gone home when the game ended well after midnight.

Colorado 7, Chicago 0--Patrick Roy set an NHL record with his 89th career playoff victory, and Valeri Kamensky broke out of a postseason scoring slump with three goals as the Avalanche took a 3-2 series lead with a victory over the Blackhawks at Denver.

Roy, who eclipsed the record of 88 victories held by former New York Islander goalie Billy Smith, had 25 saves to record his 10th career playoff shutout. “It’s a great honor,” Roy said. “It’s nice to pass a guy like Billy Smith who had a fantastic playoff career. Hopefully, I can add to the record in our next game in Chicago.”

Kamensky, who had scored only one goal in 14 previous playoff games, also had an assist. Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic each had three assists as Colorado rebounded from poor performances in Games 3 and 4.