The Canadiens Roman Hamrlik, left, and Petteri Nokelainen collide [GALLO/GETTY]

Patrice Brisebois scored the sole goal late in the second period, and Montreal's rookie goaltender Carey Price posted his first playoff shutout.

The Canadiens, the No. 1 seed in the East, lead the best-of-seven, first-round series 3-1.

Carey, the fifth overall pick in the 2005 draft, stopped 27 shots.

Flyers 6, Capitals 3

In Philadelphia, Danny Briere had two goals and an assist, leading Philadelphia to a 2-1 series lead over Washington.

The game was tied 1-1 in the opening period when the Flyers scored twice in 17 seconds, and they were never headed.

Ducks 4, Stars 2

In Dallas, Chris Pronger scored two power-play goals and assisted on the first goal, as Anaheim cut its series deficit against Dallas to 2-1.

Dallas lost for the seventh time in its past eight home playoff games and missed a chance to take a 3-0 series lead.

Anaheim scored three goals on four shots in the first 15 minutes. Pronger scored again about early in the second period.

Avalanche 5, Wild 1

In Denver, Colorado used a three-goal first-period to rout Minnesota and tie the first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore stopped 24 of 25 shots.

Minnesota collected an astounding 111 minutes of penalty time, against 43 for Colorado.

The Avalanche took a 3-0 lead after 11 minutes, and two power-play scores in the second period made it 5-0.

Theodore's shutout bid ended at 3:11 of the third period.

Sharks 3, Flames 2

In Calgary, Alberta, Joe Thornton scored with just 9.4 seconds left in regulation time to help San Jose square its series against Calgary at 2-2.

Thornton tipped a shot from the point into the net, winning a game in which the Sharks trailed twice.

The Flames set a franchise low for shots on goal in a playoff game, mustering just 10.