MONTREAL (AP) -- Brian Gionta's record-setting goal and an out-of-town result helped inspire the New Jersey Devils to complete a pair of stunning comebacks.
Jamie Langenbrunner capped a sensational third-period comeback Tuesday night that earned New Jersey the Atlantic Division title with its 11th straight victory, 4-3 over Montreal.
The Devils, who trailed the division-leading Flyers by 19 points on Jan. 6, registered the biggest comeback to claim a division title since the league divided into two conferences with the 1974-75 expansion. Detroit held the previous record, overcoming an 18-point deficit in 1993-94.
Gionta had three points, including his franchise-record 47th and 48th goals, then Langenbrunner scored with 2:23 to go in regulation. New Jersey, which was battling for one of the last playoff positions a month ago, won its sixth division championship in nine seasons in spectacular fashion.
"I don't think it's sunk in," Langenbrunner said. "We were basically so far out of it even three weeks ago that somehow we won this division and have home ice is -- I think we're all a little bit in shock about that. But we definitely earned it."
The Devils last lost 4-3 in Toronto on March 26. They trailed the Canadiens 3-0, however.
Gionta scored late in the second period and again midway through the third before assisting on Patrik Elias' tying goal 14:55 into the final period.
"We knew what was going on," said Gionta, acknowledging the Devils were aware the New York Rangers had lost 5-1 to Ottawa. "Down 3-1 going into the third and with a chance for a division title, we had to throw everything on the line."
Langenbrunner further silenced the stunned sellout crowd of 21,273 when he beat Cristobal Huet on a 2-on-1 to win it.
"I was definitely excited," Langenbrunner said. "To be able to help your team clinch a division is definitely a good feeling, especially considering all that we've been through this year with our struggles early on, players leaving and coaches quitting. It's been quite a year."
The Devils finished with 101 points, the same as Philadelphia, but won the division with more victories. They will play the New York Rangers in the playoffs; the Rangers wound up with 100 points.
"To win 11 in a row at the end of the year is quite an accomplishment, especially the schedule we were playing, against pretty much all playoff teams," Langenbrunner said. "We're excited about the way we're playing, but this team is built to play in the playoffs and that's what we base our accomplishments on and we're excited about our opportunity now."
Montreal, which topped its own league attendance record, finished seventh overall with 95 points after clinching a playoff spot the night before when Atlanta lost. The Canadiens will travel to Carolina to open its opening-round series.
"If you had asked me 24 hours ago I would have said I was excited about it because we're happy to be playing and we skated right down to the wire to get into the playoffs," Canadiens coach and GM Bob Gainey said. "Even tonight, teams were moving all over through the division, so we're happy to be playing, we're happy to be in the playoffs. That's what our goal was at the beginning of the year."
Gionta had his sixth three-point game of the season to finish with 89 points. He extended his points streak to 15 games when he broke Huet's shutout effort. He moved ahead of Pat Verbeek, who scored 46 goals for the Devils in 1987-88.
The 5-foot-7 right wing added his second goal of the game 11:29 into the third.
Craig Rivet and Tomas Plekanec scored first-period goals to put the Canadiens up 2-0. Alex Kovalev added his 23rd on a brilliant individual effort in the second period.
Montreal's 41st sellout in as many home games brought the Canadiens' total attendance to 872,193 this season, the team's 10th full season at the Bell Centre. That tops its NHL record of 861,072 set in 1996-97.
Notes: Devils G Martin Brodeur tied his career high with 43 wins, a figure he first attained in 1997-98. Brodeur also won 43 games in 1999-2000 before the Devils went on to win the second of their three Stanley Cups in the playoffs. ... The Canadiens' total attendance was higher than baseball's Expos drew in five of their six final seasons at Olympic Stadium. Montreal's defunct NL team played 59 home dates in its final two seasons, when some games were moved to Puerto Rico to boost revenue before the franchise was moved to Washington, D.C., for the 2005 season. ... The Canadiens have sold out 64 consecutive regular-season games.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)
-- The Los Angeles Clippers hardly looked like a team trying to lose their way into a better playoff matchup.
The Clippers cut an 18-point deficit to 3 down the stretch Tuesday night before finally losing 101-95 to the Memphis Grizzlies.
For the loss, the Clippers' second straight and fifth in the last seven, they were rewarded with the sixth seed and home-court advantage against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies captured their seventh game of the last eight, earned a 3-1 edge over the Clippers in the season series and assured themselves of a better overall record than Los Angeles with one game left.
Memphis earned the fifth seed, but the less enviable task of hitting the playoff road against the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
"It was a bizarre game. I'll leave it at that," Memphis forward Shane Battier said.
In one of the league's most unusual late-season matchups, the Clippers did what was necessary to assure they got the sixth seed and opened the playoffs with home-court against Denver, the Northwest Division champion.
But despite all the talk about the convoluted playoff picture, the Clippers showed down the stretch, even though it was done mostly with reserves, that they were hardly trying to lose.
"We didn't talk about it much," Los Angeles forward Walter McCarty said of losing their way to the sixth seed. "We wanted to win this game, and we were trying to win it with the guys we had on the floor.
"We were playing down to the wire. If people think we were trying to throw games or whatever, they've really got it wrong."
Jake Tsakalidis scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Lorenzen Wright finished with 17 points Tuesday night to lead the Grizzlies. Bobby Jackson scored 15 points for Memphis, while Battier added 12.
The Clippers cut Memphis's 18-point fourth-quarter lead to 96-93 when Daniel Ewing hit a pair of free throws with 29.6 remaining.
However, a 3-pointer by Mike Miller with 11 seconds left put the game out of reach. As Jackson sank a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining, the Memphis crowd began standing and cheering for the Grizzlies in their home finale.
"We came in here with the resolution to win, and that's what we did," Battier said. "...We're trying to finish the season off strong."
James Singleton, who averages 3.1 points, led the Clippers with 23 points logging a season-high 45 minutes. Elton Brand had 17 points and eight rebounds. McCarty scored 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while Cuttino Mobley finished with 10 points.
Before the game, Memphis put leading scorer and rebounder Pau Gasol on the inactive list with a sore left foot. That allowed Hakim Warrick to start his first game of the season in Gasol's power forward spot.
The Clippers countered with a starting lineup that included Vin Baker, playing in his seventh game and his first start of the season, Shaun Livingston in place of Sam Cassell, and Singleton, starting his ninth game of the season.
Center Chris Kaman and Cassell, who normally start, never got their warmups off.
"Everywhere around the league you have teams resting guys that log major minutes," Brand said. "From Miami to Detroit to wherever. Memphis rested Pau Gasol. It's not that they are trying to lose. They are trying to prepare themselves for the best opportunity in the playoffs."
The Grizzlies built the lead to 18 in the first half based on the inside play of Wright and Tsakalidis. The pair of centers were a combined 9-for-13 from the field in the first half, with Wright scoring 11 points and Tsakalidis adding nine.
Also, Jackson had 12 points on four 3-pointers to help Memphis take a 51-33 lead into halftime.
McCarty, who entered the game with a 1.9-point average, had 10 points at the break to lead Clippers.
Memphis extended the lead to 21 in the third period, but the Clippers put together a 14-2 run to get the margin under 10 at 69-60.
The Grizzlies with a 3-pointer by Brian Cardinal in the final seconds of the third period, carried a 76-65 in the fourth.
In Memphis's playoff runs the two previous years, the Grizzlies have limped in with 1-5 and 1-6 records down the stretch. This year seems to be different with Memphis having momentum.
"The last couple of years, we haven't played well going in and it showed," Memphis guard Mike Miller said. "If that doesn't work, you have to try something new. Our goal was to go in on a high note."
Notes: Asked before the game about preparing for a Clippers team starting different players, Memphis coach Mike Fratello winked and said: "They don't know who we're playing either." Then Gasol showed up on the bench in street clothes. ... Gasol grabbed the microphone before the game to thank fans for their support during the season. ... The Clippers have tied the franchise road record with 19 victories, a mark se

BOSTON (AP)
-- David Wells said Tuesday he was wrong to criticize commissioner Bud Selig for ordering the New York Yankees to remove a sign apologizing for the absence of star players who were at the World Baseball Classic.
The Yankees put up a sign in early March at their spring training ballpark, apologizing to fans for the absence of players who were at the WBC. Major League Baseball then directed that the Yankees remove the sign.
In the interview with The Hartford Courant published March 8, Wells was quoted as saying, "Bud Selig needs to resign. That's what he needs to do.
"He needs to resign and bring someone in who's capable of communicating with the players association and the owners, as well as the players, because there's so much hatred against Bud right now. It's a joke. Nobody likes him."
Wells sounded a more conciliatory note in Tuesday's statement.
"I wish to apologize for my comments of a few weeks ago regarding commissioner Bud Selig," the Boston Red Sox left-hander said in a statement e-mailed from the office of his agent Gregg Clifton.
"While I disagreed then and still disagree today with commissioner Selig's response to a sign posted at the Yankees spring training stadium regarding the World Baseball Classic, my remarks were overly harsh and should not have been directed personally at the commissioner.
"Mr. Selig's job subjects him regularly to close scrutiny by all who work in and follow the game," the statement said. "That job should not be made even more difficult by unwarranted personal attacks."
Selig has not received the apology, baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said.
Wells went on the 15-day disabled list last Saturday, retroactive to the previous Thursday. He is 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA in one game this season.
"If he needs to apologize to the fans, so be it," Wells said of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner in the Courant interview. "If Bud has a problem with it, tell him to go take it down himself. And then I'd repost it again."

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Police searched the dorm rooms of two Duke University lacrosse players after the two were arrested on charges of raping and kidnapping an exotic dancer during an off-campus team party. District Attorney Mike Nifong said Tuesday he also hoped to link a third man to the alleged attack soon, but he said that person had not been "identified with certainty." "It is important that we not only bring the assailants to justice, but also that we lift the cloud of suspicion from those team members who were not involved in the assault," Nifong said in a statement. The accuser, a 27-year-old student at a nearby college, told police she was attacked by three white men at a house where she and another woman were hired to dance at a party of lacrosse team members the night of March 13. Two team members -- Reade Seligmann, a sophomore from Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, a sophomore from Garden City, N.Y. -- were arrested early Tuesday. Each posted $400,000 bond and was released within hours. Their lawyers assailed the district attorney for bringing the charges after DNA tests had failed to connect any of the team members to the alleged rape. Seligmann is "absolutely innocent," said attorney Kirk Osborn. Finnerty's attorney, Bill Cotter, said, "We're confident that these young men will be found to be innocent." Nifong has declined to say what led to the charges or discuss evidence in the case. The dorm rooms were searched Tuesday night for about two hours, according to resident assistant Taggart White. Defense attorneys have said they have time-stamped photos from the party, bank records, cell phone calls and a taxi driver's statement to support Seligmann's claim of innocence. Robert Ekstrand, who represents dozens of players on the team, said neither Seligmann nor Finnerty was at the party "at the relevant time." The indictment represents "a horrible circumstance and a product of a rush to judgment," he said. Defense attorneys have also alleged that the accuser was intoxicated and injured when she showed up for the party. A cousin of the accuser who has been acting as a spokeswoman for her family disputed that allegations in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" Wednesday. She identified herself only by her first name, Jackie, to protect the woman's identity. "Before she went to the party she was not intoxicated, she was not drinking," Jackie said. "There's a great possibility that when she went to the party, she was given a drink and it was drugged." The case has raised racial tensions and heightened the long-standing town-vs.-gown antagonism between Duke students and middle-class, racially mixed Durham. The accuser is black, and all but one of the 47 lacrosse team members are white. Duke would not comment specifically on any disciplinary action taken against Seligmann and Finnerty, but said it is university practice to suspend students charged with a felony. "Many lives have been touched by this case," Duke President Richard Brodhead said in a statement. "It has brought pain and suffering to all involved, and it deeply challenges our ability to balance judgment with compassion." Since the scandal broke, the university has canceled the team's season, its coach resigned and Duke officials said they were investigating the behavior of the nationally ranked team, some of whose members have been found guilty of public intoxication and public urination. Neither Seligmann and Finnerty was among the team members arrested in recent years for such offenses as underage drinking and public urination. Finnerty, however, was charged in Washington, D.C., with assault after a man told police in November that Finnerty and two friends punched him and called him "gay and other derogatory names." Finnerty agreed to community service. Both Seligmann and Finnerty are products of wealthy New York City suburbs and all-male Roman Catholic prep schools. Finnerty attended Long Island's Chaminade High School, where 99 percent of the students go on to college. Seligmann went to the exclusive Delbarton School, a lacrosse powerhouse in Morristown, N.J. "It is our hope and our conviction that the full truth of all that happened that night will vindicate Reade of these charges," Delbarton's headmaster, the Rev. Luke L. Travers, said in a statement.

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison is expected to forgo his senior year and declare for the NBA draft, according to numerous media reports. Morrison, a first-team All-America and the nation's leading scorer, has not commented on the reports, but has scheduled a press conference at Gonzaga for Wednesday afternoon. His mother would not say if Morrison was turning pro. "No comment," Wanda Morrison told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Spokane television stations KHQ, KREM and KXLY and FoxSports.com reported Monday night that Morrison had decided to turn pro. All cited unnamed sources. The Spokesman-Review and The Seattle Times both reported in Tuesday's editions that he would leave, also citing unnamed sources. Gonzaga coach Mark Few did not return several telephone messages left by the AP. Morrison, who averaged 28.1 points per game last season, is expected to be a first-round draft choice in the June 28 NBA draft. He has until April 29 to officially declare for the draft. The West Coast Conference player of the year, Morrison edged Duke's J.J. Redick for this year's national scoring title. He finished second to Redick for the Naismith and John R. Wooden Awards for college basketball's player of the year. In three seasons at Gonzaga, Morrison scored 1,867 points to rank third on the Bulldog's all-time scoring list, behind Frank Burgess (2,196) and Jim McPhee (2,015). Morrison scored at least 30 points 14 times this season and five times scored at least 40 points as he became the second Bulldogs player to win the national scoring title. Gonzaga finished 29-4 this season.