MONTREAL - Clarke MacArthur scored on the power play 58 seconds into overtime as the Ottawa Senators held on to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night.

Erik Condra, Colin Greening and Mark Stone also scored for Ottawa (19-18-7), which jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the first period at the Bell Centre.

Daniel Briere, in his best game with the Canadiens (24-14-5), scored twice and had an assist while Brian Gionta also scored.

After a scoreless second period with only seven shots for each side, Montreal mounted a comeback in the third.

Briere brought his team to within one with a nifty move at the side of the net. He managed to jam the puck past Craig Anderson at 1:57 of the third off a behind-the-net pass from Tomas Plekanec.

Briere, a 36-year-old former all-star, was back in the lineup after sitting out as a healthy scratch for two games.

The Canadiens continued to press after his goal and put in another a few minutes later. Gionta shovelled in a loose puck at 4:46 off a point shot, after Plekanec and Briere had a crack at it first.

But it wasn't enough after Ottawa's quick start.

Greening quieted the crowd with a goal only 13 seconds into the game on a cross-crease pass from Condra.

The Canadiens had a few tough bounces to start things off.

What looked like a power-play goal by Rene Bourque at 4:05 into the first period was called back after a quick whistle on a scramble in front.

Briere finally tied the score 11:32 into the first period when he managed to knock in his own rebound after a pass from Travis Moen.

The tie didn't last long.

The Senators regained the lead on a backhand shot from Mark Stone at 13:50.

Condra scored again for the Sens 14 seconds later on a pass that went off the skate of Habs defenceman Francis Bouillon.

Heading into the second period with a two-goal lead, the Senators played a more conservative style and were able to limit the chances on Anderson. Both teams had just seven shots apiece in the second period.

NOTES: Senators captain Jason Spezza missed his fourth straight game with a hip flexor injury. ... Canadiens defenceman Raphael Diaz was a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2014