Bergevin led the Canadiens to the Northeast Division title and a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in his first season as an NHL general manager. Montreal, 28th last season in the 30-team NHL, was the league’s most improved team before being ousted by No. 7 Ottawa in the postseason’s first round.

Bergevin hired Michel Therrien as head coach and added defenseman Francis Bouillon and forwards Brandon Prust and Colby Armstrong to the roster. He also acquired forward Michael Ryder in a midseason trade.

Murray helped guide Anaheim to its best regular-season finish in franchise history. The Ducks won the Pacific Division and earned the No. 2 seed in the West, but they were eliminated by No. 7 Detroit in a Game 7 loss at home on Sunday night.

Shero made key additions to an already-strong Penguins roster throughout the lockout-shortened year that helped propel the Penguins to their first Atlantic Division title since 2008 and the No. 1 seed in the East.

He obtained center Brandon Sutter and goalie Tomas Vokoun in offseason trades and brought in defenseman Douglas Murray and forwards Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Jussi Jokinen before the trade deadline.

The Penguins eliminated the New York Islanders in six games in the first round of the playoffs and will face Ottawa in the Eastern Conference semifinal series that will begin Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

Voting for the award was conducted among the 30 club general managers and a panel of NHL executives, print and broadcast media. The winner will be announced during the Stanley Cup finals.

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Not when Craig Anderson is guarding the goal.

Anderson made 48 saves, many of them spectacular, and the Ottawa Senators staged a third-period comeback to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in the opening game of the first playoff series between the geographic rivals.

The Canadiens set team playoff records with 27 shots in the second period and 50 overall. Wasn’t enough: Anderson outplayed Montreal goalie Carey Price, who stopped 27 shots at the other end.

“What can you say? Andy’s our MVP,” said defenseman Marc Methot, who scored the winning goal. “He’s a machine back there. He just keeps going and going. We’re lucky to have him in the net.”

The Canadiens will try to solve Anderson and the Senators in Game 2 on Friday night at the Bell Centre. But the hosts will be without one of their hottest forwards, center Lars Eller, who was wheeled off the ice on a stretcher bleeding heavily from the face and taken to hospital. He suffered a concussion, as well as fractures to his face and teeth, after an open-ice hit from Ottawa defenseman Eric Gryba.

Eller had taken an ill-considered pass up the middle from Raphael Diaz when he was flattened by Gryba with a hit the NHL is likely to review for further discipline. Gryba was given a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct.

“It was a hockey play,” said Ottawa coach Paul MacLean. “Our guy hit him, but player 61 (Diaz) is the guy to blame.”

“I can’t comment,” was all Montreal coach Michel Therrien said about the hit.

Brendan Gallagher scored during the resulting power play to put Montreal up 2-1. But the Senators’ league-best penalty killers then shut the door during a full two-minute, two-man advantage.

Jakob Silfverberg tied it with a shot that sailed between Price’s legs from the right circle 3:27 into the third period. Mathot swept a shot from the point into the top corner to put Ottawa ahead less than two minutes later.

Guillaume Latendresse, a former Canadien who was booed by most of the 21,273 in the seats, sealed the win with a goal that went in off his body as he drove to the net with 6:05 remaining.

Erik Karlsson scored in the first period for Ottawa, while Rene Bourque got one early in the second for Montreal.

“You just have to give your team an opportunity to stay in the game and win,” said Anderson, who led NHL goaltenders with a 1.69 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage this season, but likely won’t get the Vezina Trophy because he missed 20 games with an ankle injury.

“Montreal played a really good second period. They had a lot of momentum. Our penalty kill did a good job of finding a way to keep them to one goal and give us a chance to get back in the game. We went from having no momentum in the second and taking momentum back in the third.”

Therrien was impressed.

“We played a good game and we deserved a better result,” he said. “I’m proud of our team. We had 50 shots. We went to the net. But the story of the game was Anderson. He was extraordinary.”

Anderson was sharp as the Senators weathered a fierce Canadiens push in the first 10 minutes before Karlsson put on a show for the opening goal at 17:25.

The 2012 Norris Trophy winner, who returned late in the regular season from an injury to his Achilles tendon, skated through the neutral zone and worked a give-and-go with Kyle Turris, redirecting the return pass along the ice between Price’s pads.

Montreal tied the game when Bourque came out from behind the net and beat Anderson with a backhander under the crossbar on Montreal’s 34th shot of the game.

After the Gryba hit and with Ottawa down a man, Gallagher banged in Tomas Plekanec’s pass to put Montreal in the lead.

“I stepped up to make a hit. I kept my shoulder down. He received the puck by the time I hit him,” Gryba said. “I saw the replay. My elbow was down and there was no intent to hurt him whatsoever and I hope that he’s OK. I’m not out here to hurt anybody and it’s never good to seeing anything like that.

“I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.”

Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said the quantity of shots was fine, and the quality was there some of the time, but his team needs to be sharper.

“We battled hard most of the game, but we’ve got to do a little better job of getting second and third opportunities,” Gionta said. “We had a lot of good chances, quality chances, but we’ve got to find a way to get those rebounds or a little more urgency in front of their net. He’s a good goalie and he’s going to make the first stop, for sure.”

Gryba’s hit came after Montreal’s P.K. Subban flattened Chris Neil with an open ice hit, but the Ottawa enforcer wasn’t injured on the play.

Game notes

Montreal’s 50 shots set a team record for a regulation playoff game. … The Canadiens are 50-28-2 all-time in playoff openers. Ottawa is 11-11. … Montreal sat out Jeff Halpern, Colby Armstrong, Davis Drewiske and Yannick Weber. … Peter Regin, Matt Kassian, Patrick Wiercioch and Andre Benoit were among Ottawa’s scratches. … The game was the first between Canadian teams in the playoffs since 2004. Ottawa met Toronto and Vancouver took on Calgary in the first round that season.

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Therrien was angry after the Canadiens lost by four goals for a second straight game — this time 7-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.

Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk scored for the Canadiens (26-11-5), who were coming off a 5-1 loss in Toronto on Saturday. They have had two lopsided losses since clinching a playoff spot on Thursday.

“Since we clinched, our intensity and concentration level, our attention to detail and our work ethic, have fallen a lot,” Therrien said after the loss that helped the struggling Flyers end a four-game losing streak. “You see the results.

“It’s a game of pride. You have to come to the rink ready to play. That’s what we were not doing the last two games. There’s no work ethic there right now. It’s disappointing.”

Scott Hartnell scored three goals, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek each had a goal and two assists, and Wayne Simmonds and Erik Gustafsson also scored for the Flyers (18-21-3), who matched their season high for goals as they try to make a late push for a playoff spot.

Philadelphia is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, four places and seven points behind the New York Rangers and the postseason cutoff. The Flyers have six games remaining, starting with a home matchup with the Rangers on Tuesday.

The Flyers outshot Montreal 33-28 in a sloppy game that had the 21,273 at the Bell Centre booing the Canadiens.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price was pulled for a second game in a row in favor of Peter Budaj. Price left at the end of the second period after allowing six goals on 29 shots.

“Carey Price obviously didn’t have his best night,” said Hartnell, whose team scored only three goals in its previous four games. “We had traffic in front, we were making plays, we were moving our feet in the offensive zone.

“We weren’t standing still with the puck. It’s lot more fun to play games like that instead of 0-0.”

The Canadiens are in danger of losing three in a row for the first time this season when they play at first-place Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

“We always bounced back all season,” said defenseman Francis Bouillon, who was minus-3 on Monday. “We’ve got a lot of character in this room.

“It would be nice to win a few games. We’re not focusing on the playoffs now, but it’s important for us to play some good hockey before the playoffs.”

They could be without Ryan White for a while. White was ejected in the first period for a direct hit to the head of defenseman Kent Huskins, when the Canadiens were trailing 2-0 just 6:11 in. The Flyers said Huskins had a concussion, and he didn’t return to the game.

White launched himself at Huskins but missed his body and caught him on the jaw. Already in trouble with Therrien earlier in the season for taking ill-timed penalties, White’s future with Montreal now looks in doubt.

Price, pulled in Toronto on Saturday after allowing three goals on four shots, gave up two goals on five Philadelphia shots before settling down. The Flyers outshot Montreal 17-8 in the first period.

“It isn’t easy to play every game at the same level,” Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov said. “Other players can make a mistake, and your partner can cover you. We support him.”

Simmonds broke down right wing and fired a shot that was stopped by Price, but the rebound hit rookie Montreal defenseman Nathan Beaulieu and went in at 2:45.

Gustafsson’s wrist shot from the point went through several bodies in front and trickled between Price’s pads at 5:49.

Consecutive cross-checking calls on the Flyers’ Oliver Lauridsen allowed the Canadiens to tie it as Pacioretty tipped in Tomas Plekanec’s pass in the slot at 19:02. Gallagher scored from in front 38 seconds into the second.

Only 24 seconds later, Josh Gorges overskated a puck behind his net, and Giroux pounced and fed Voracek as the Flyers took a 3-2 lead. Voracek’s 18th goal tied a career high set last season.

Hartnell scored from the slot on a power play at 7:30, but Galchenyuk fought off a check to score at 9:11. Giroux put one in off Markov’s stick at 10:46 for a 5-3 Philadelphia lead.

Hartnell snapped a shot past Budaj from the top of the left circle 12:45 into the third.

Game notes

A moment of silence was held for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. … Montreal rested banged-up forward Brandon Prust. White took his place in the lineup.

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Making his NHL debut, big defenseman Jarred Tinordi set up Tomas Plekanec’s tiebreaking goal in the third period, and the Canadiens extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

“What a start for the kid,” Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said of the 20-year-old son of former NHL defenseman Mark Tinordi. “We’re all pleased with the way he played the puck at net. It looked routine out there for him.

“He showed a lot of poise for his age and played very solid. He wasn’t nervous. He saw more ice time because you can see him become more comfortable. He made the right decisions.”

The best decision by Jarred Tinordi was understanding that goalie Johan Hedberg’s clearing pass from behind the net took a bad bounce off the sideboards and was heading to open ice above the left circle. The 6-foot-6 Tinordi skated toward the puck from the right side and let go a shot that Plekanec deflected past Hedberg at 6:49.

“I felt pretty comfortable out there,” said Tinordi, who played 19 shifts and almost 15 minutes just two days after being called up from Hamilton. “I think the nervousness and the butterflies were gone after the first couple of shifts.

“I tried not to think about the way I was playing. I knew we scored on the play. I didn’t realize I got an assist. The boys were pretty happy for me. I was just shooting it to get it on net.”

Hedberg said the goal was the type one would expect to decide a tight-checking game.

`We make that play 20 times a game, and sometimes the puck doesn’t want to go your way,” said Hedberg, who finished with 20 saves. “It came back to them and boom boom, it’s in the net. It was one of those games that comes down to a goal like that, and we were weren’t fortunate enough to get it.”

Colby Armstrong also scored for Montreal, and Carey Price made 32 saves. The Canadiens moved into a tie with Pittsburgh for the most points in the Eastern Conference.

Defenseman Peter Harrold scored for New Jersey, which lost for the second time in two nights (0-1-1).

“It’s a tough one to swallow, but their goalie played well and so did ours,” Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk said.

Price was just a little bit better in making Plekanec’s 12th goal of the season stand up. He stopped 18 shots in the third period, including a chest save through traffic on Patrik Elias with 1:24 left and stoning Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac in close in the final minute.

“They put a little bit of a full-court press on us, but our guys battled hard all night,” Price said. “We’re working hard every night, trying to keep things simple. I think that’s the style of play we have to have. We have good teamwork and that’s what’s working for us.

“I think our team is excellent in coming back after I make a save, collapsing on everything I leave out there, cleaning up the trash. We’re sticking to the game plan and that makes it a lot easier.”

Playing for the third time in four nights, the Devils tied it 1-1 on Harrold’s power-play goal at 3:54 of the second period.

With Ryan White off for holding the stick, Kovalchuk intercepted a clearing pass at the right point and slid the puck across the ice to Harrold. The defenseman got a shot off quickly and squeezed it between Price’s pads for his first goal since Dec. 2, 2010 — a span of only 26 games for the journeyman, who has spent much of his career in the minor leagues.

Armstrong snapped a 39-game goal drought, dating to February 2012, to give the Canadiens the lead at 8:08 of the first period.

Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov lost his footing shortly after a faceoff. Armstrong retrieved the puck, skated into the right circle and ripped a shot past Hedberg, who made his career-high 12 straight start in place of the injured Martin Brodeur.

Forward Mike Blunden, who grabbed an early-morning flight after being recalled from Hamilton, appeared to screen Hedberg on the play.

“You have to like the way the young guys played,” Canadiens captain Brian Gionta said. “They came through.”

Goal posts kept both teams from taking the lead during the same second-period penalty. Kovalchuk, who leads the NHL with four short-handed goals, just missed another on a 2-on-1 break while Harrold was in the penalty box.

Lars Eller beat Hedberg about a minute later, but that puck also struck a post.

Game notes

The Canadiens have scored first in 21 of 28 games. … Montreal RW Michael Ryder had his streak of 114 consecutive games played snapped because of a lower body injury. He last missed a game in March 2011. … Devils C Andrei Loktionov, who was hurt Friday against Philadelphia, sat out due to an undisclosed injury. … C Harri Pesonen made his NHL debut for New Jersey. .. Harrold was cut badly on the forehead by a shot in the third period, but returned to the game. … The Devils honored former goalie coach Jacques Caron before the game.

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The feisty rookie forward — who has five goals and three assists — left Saturday night’s game early in the third period after taking a hit from Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said Gallagher was already “feeling a lot better,” though he stressed that the club will follow league protocol and make sure he’s fully recovered.

“We never want to put a player’s health in danger,” Therrien said after Sunday’s practice. “When he gets back in the lineup, he will be healthy.”

Under the NHL’s new rules this year, a player who suffers a concussion no longer has to remain inactive for seven days, but must pass a series of tests. Gallagher had one concussion while playing juniors.

When asked whether Schenn’s hit should get a second look by the league, Therrien said it’s not for him to decide.

“I honestly hope that all body checks like this are reviewed,” he said. “I have nothing else to add.”

Gallagher had a goal and an assist against the Flyers before getting hurt, helping the Canadiens to their third straight win, 4-1.

Forward Max Pacioretty, who also left Saturday night’s game after getting cut by a skate as he drove to the net, was treated with stitches and was back at practice Sunday.

Pacioretty has a history of quickly returning from injuries, but he said he wasn’t feeling 100 percent and would see how he felt on Monday before deciding if he can play against Carolina later that night.

Defenseman P.K. Subban, out with the flu, and Gallagher were the only players missing from Sunday’s practice. Subban could also sit out of Monday’s game.

Carey Price, meanwhile, is feeling better after his own bout with the flu, but backup Peter Budaj could still get the start in goal against the Hurricanes.

The Canadiens travel to New York to face the Rangers on Tuesday. Goalie Robert Mayer, called up from Hamilton of the AHL on Saturday to back up Budaj, was sent back down.

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The Canadiens earned their third straight win Saturday night when Brendan Gallagher and Rene Bourque each had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 victory over the sagging Philadelphia Flyers.

The win came a week to the day after a 6-0 whitewashing by Toronto at the Bell Centre.

Defenseman Josh Gorges said the club did right to forget that defeat and focus on the games ahead.

“I thought the way we handled that game, with (Erik) Cole getting the guys together, guys talking and coming back to work the right way. … You can lick your wounds and feel sorry for yourselves and point fingers, but instead of doing that we decided to look in the mirror, and be accountable and get better,” Gorges said. “We had a good week.”

The Canadiens rebounded with a 4-3 shootout win at Tampa Bay on Tuesday night and a 1-0 overtime win over the Panthers in Florida on Thursday before putting away Philadelphia.

“It was important to bounce back,” coach Michel Therrien said. “We got better each game. I like how we competed. I couldn’t ask for more.”

David Desharnais and Tomas Plekanec also scored for the Canadiens, while backup Peter Budaj got his first win in three starts this season while filling in for Carey Price, who was at home sick. Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta each had a pair of assists.

Daniel Briere had the lone goal for the Flyers, who have lost three of their last four and looked tired and listless as they were outshot 29-19. The Flyers had only seven shots when Briere scored more than halfway through the second period.

Captain Claude Giroux’s concern with his team’s flat play was evident when he spoke after the game.

“There’s no compete,” he said. “We’re not winning battles.

“We’re just going through the motions. You know, we’re a young team that can skate. We should be winning more battles than this. It’s just frustrating to see. I know I have to be better, but a team is 20 guys and you need everybody to show up.”

Brian Boucher started in place of Ilya Bryzgalov and had little chance on the Montreal goals.

“Sometimes there are games where you go out there and see how it plays out,” Boucher said. “You don’t want to play the game that way. You want to be on the attack, on the balls of your feet. Maybe that was the case tonight.”

It may have been a costly win for Montreal, which has been healthy since the start of the season except for center Petteri Nokelainen’s back injury.

Gallagher left four minutes into the third period after he was checked into the boards by Luke Schenn, and Pacioretty exited the game after crashing either an elbow or his ribs into a goalpost after being hauled down by Kimmo Timonen at 11:52.

Therrien said both players had upper body injuries and would undergo tests to determine the extent of the problems.

Later, forward Colby Armstrong took a puck to face and went for treatment. And then defenseman Alexei Emelin struggled to the bench after being checked from behind by Giroux, although he stayed in the game.

The Flyers were coming off a 5-3 loss to New Jersey on Friday night. They were outshot 12-2 in the opening period but Boucher kept them in the game.

Gallagher got his fifth of the season at 8:53 after taking a feed from Pacioretty and putting a nifty move on Timonen before scoring on a low shot.

Gallagher and Pacioretty combined again to feed Desharnais alone in front 1:15 into the second frame.

Defenseman P.K. Subban made a sprawling save after Budaj misplayed a puck behind his crease, but the shutout was broken moments later when Briere put a shot in off Andrei Markov’s leg at 13:56.

Plekanec got his seventh of the season 4:32 into the third as he took his own rebound off defenseman Braydon Coburn and fired it past the sprawled Boucher.

Bourque was credited with an empty-net goal at 18:56.

Game notes

Goalie Robert Mayer was called up from AHL Hamilton to back up Budaj. … Montreal defenseman Alexei Emelin, hit on the face by a puck in the preseason, has traded in his face cage for a visor. … Ryan White, Yannick Weber and Tomas Kaberle were scratched for Montreal. The Flyers sat out Kurtis Foster, Herry Zolnierczyk and Tom Sestito.

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