COLUMBUS, Ohio – A rookie goalie making his first career NHL start proved to be just what the struggling Montreal Canadiens needed.

Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots, Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu each had a goal and an assist, and Montreal beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 Sunday night to end a season-worst six-game losing streak.

“When you see your goalie with that much confidence in his first game, it lets you settle down too,” said defenseman Sheldon Souray, who had an assist. “We had to come in here and get a good effort.”

Francis Bouillon also scored for Montreal, which moved into a tie with Toronto for the eighth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens entered having dropped from fourth place to ninth in the standings behind an 8-17-1 record since Dec. 23.

Halak, who finished with 31 saves, was vying to become the fourth Montreal goalie to get a shutout in his first NHL start until Columbus scored twice in a 3:03 span midway through the third period on goals by Nikolai Zherdev and Gilbert Brule.

“It would have been nice to get the shutout but we got the two points,” the 21-year-old said.

Points have been hard to come by of late for the Blue Jackets. They have lost six of their last eight games and are all but eliminated from playoff contention.

But with Columbus trailing 3-0, Alexander Svitov – who had been stopped by Halak on a breakaway earlier in the third period – skated the length of the ice and dropped the puck to Zherdev, who scored from the slot at 8:05. The goal was Zherdev’s first since Jan. 6 and eighth of the season.

Brule pulled Columbus closer, picking up a rebound off the end boards and snapping a shot past Halak with 8:52 remaining.

With goalie Pascal Leclaire pulled, Columbus pressured the final minute of the game with Dan Fritsche shooting the puck just wide from close range.

“He made key saves when they were needed,” Koivu said of Halak. “They scored two goals but he was still very focused.”

Halak was called up Friday from Hamilton of the AHL where he led the league with a 2.00 goals-against average. He took the roster spot of starter Cristobal Huet who was scheduled to undergo hamstring surgery on Sunday and will be sidelined indefinitely.

“We were looking for a good performance and he gave it to us,” Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said.

Penguins 3, Capitals 2

PITTSBURGH – Evgeni Malkin scored a bad-angle goal to give Pittsburgh the lead in another tightly played game against Washington and the streaking Penguins won their sixth in a row by beating the Capitals 3-2 Sunday.

The Penguins have gained at least a point in 16 consecutive games, going 14-0-2 – their longest run since an 18-game run that ended the 1992-93 season and included their league-record 17-game winning streak. The surprise is that NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby, who has 91 points, is slumping with only one goal in 10 games.

Stars 5, Sharks 2

DALLAS – Mike Ribeiro and Jere Lehtinen each scored two goals, Darryl Sydor added three assists and Marty Turco made 17 saves to help Dallas beat San Jose.

Rangers 2, Blackhawks 1

NEW YORK – Martin Straka and Marcel Hossa scored 10 minutes apart in the first period and New York beat Chicago without Brendan Shanahan.

The 38-year-old forward was released from the hospital just hours before the game after spending the night under observation for a concussion. Shanahan was knocked unconscious Saturday during a 5-3 home loss to Philadelphia after colliding with Flyers forward Mike Knuble. It is unknown how long Shanahan will be sidelined, but he won’t play for at least a week.

Blues 5, Wild 3

ST. LOUIS – Rookie David Backes scored twice and Jay McClement had a goal and an assist to help St. Louis win its third straight.

After Marian Gaborik tied the score at 2 with 1.8 seconds left in the opening period, St. Louis pulled away with three goals in the second.

Jamal Mayers opened the scoring with a short-handed goal in the first period, Keith Tkachuk also scored and Manny Legace made 33 saves for the Blues.