Canadiens 5, Red Wings 3: Captain Brian Gionta's second goal of the game with 6:47 remaining in the third period put host Montreal ahead to stay and helped bolster its chances to earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Max Pacioretty notched his team-high 39th goal while Michael Bournival and Alex Galchenyuk also scored as Montreal prevailed despite blowing a three-goal advantage to open a four-point lead over Tampa Bay for second place in the Atlantic Division. Carey Price made 34 saves to help the Canadiens win for the 10th time in 12 games.

Pavel Datsyuk, rookie Luke Glendening and defenseman Niklas Kronwall scored third-period goals for Detroit, which had its four-game winning streak halted but remained three points ahead of Columbus for the first wild card in the East. Jonas Gustavsson turned aside 21 shots but had his three-start winning streak snapped.

Detroit registered the first 10 shots of the second period, but the Canadiens converted on their initial shot as Pacioretty broke down the left side and cut to the middle before beating Gustavsson stick side. Montreal made it 3-0 with 6:25 left in the period, when Lars Eller flicked defenseman Jarret Tinordi's blast off the end boards to an unguarded Gionta for an easy conversion from in front.

The Red Wings stormed back in the third as Datsyuk rifled in a rebound at the 5:11 mark and Justin Abdelkader drove down the right side before backhanding a pass to Glendening, who buried it from in front 36 seconds later to end a 51-game drought to start his career. Kronwall tied it five minutes afterward with a blistering slap shot during a power play, but Gionta and Galchenyuk scored 2:27 apart to clinch it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pacioretty needs one more tally to become Montreal's first 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse in 1993-94. ... Detroit signed Glendening to a three-year contract extension earlier Saturday. ... Canadiens D Mike Weaver has one goal and four assists during his four-game point streak. ... Tinordi and Eller each recorded two assists for Montreal, while C Johan Franzen collected a pair for Detroit.