Canadiens’ offence nowhere to be found

40 shots mean little to L.A.’s Quick

The bottom line: Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Canadiens had 40 shots on goal, including 10 on the power play, but they were unable to find the back of the net as the Los Angeles Kings romped to a 4-0 victory Thursday night at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens had five power plays, but were unable to beat Jonathan Quick, who posted his second consecutive shutout in Montreal while boosting his career record against the Canadiens to 7-2.

Last-minute breakdown: The Canadiens played a strong first period, but went into the intermission trailing 2-0 after the Kings scored twice in the final 61 seconds. Both goals were the result of the Canadiens’ failure to clear the puck from their zone. Rookie defenceman Victor Mete gave the puck away on the first goal and Adrian Kempe was in front to deflect Derek Forbort’s shot from the point at 18:59. Tyler Toffoli scored 11 seconds later when he picked off a clearing pass at the right blueline and scored on a slapshot that beat Carey Price to the far top corner. Kempe had a hat trick when the Kings beat the Canadiens 5-1 in Los Angeles last week and four of his six goals this season have been against Montreal. $10-million man delivers: Jeff Petry negated a Montreal power play when he was sent off for holding and the teams were playing 4-on-4 when Anze Kopitar scored his seventh goal of the season at 14:35 of the second period. Kopitar went for the far side off the rush and beat Price with a shot on his glove hand.

Finishing touches: Defenceman Kurtis MacDermid gave the Kings a 4-0 lead when he scored at 3:58 of the third period. It was the first point for the rookie, who was playing in his fifth NHL game.

The natives are restless: The fans started filing out midway through the third period, but the few fans left with four minutes remaining gave Price a mock cheer when he made a save and serenaded the team with boos.

Early exit for Scherbak: Nikita Scherbak, who was playing his second game since being recalled from the Laval Rocket, left the game with a lower-body injury. He fell awkwardly when he was checked along the boards in the first period. He continued playing, but packed it in after two shifts in the second period. Mete reaches benchmark: Mete played his 10th NHL game and that means the first year of his entry-level contract kicked in. The 10th game is no guarantee that he won’t be sent back to the London Knights, but it’s a vote of confidence for the 19-year-old, who has been playing on the top pair with Shea Weber. If Mete hangs around for 41 games, he’ll be one year closer to free agency.

Coming attractions: The Canadiens close out a three-game homestand with a game against the New York Rangers Saturday. The Canadians are in Ottawa Monday and on Thursday they open a three-game road trip.