Pacioretty propels Canadiens to victory
LOS ANGELES — After struggling for offence throughout their road trip, the Montreal Canadiens finally found a whole bunch of goals at Staples Center.
So did the Los Angeles Kings, which left goalie Carey Price both frustrated and grateful after a high-volume victory.
Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist, and Paul Byron scored the clinching goal in the fourth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
Alexander Radulov and Andrew Shaw also scored for the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens, who earned just their second victory in seven road games. Montreal had only one win in its previous 11 games in California before scoring three times in the fourround shootout.
Before all that, an unusual afternoon home game for the Kings led to a rare goal bonanza: The teams’ combined eight regulation goals — including six in a crazy second period — were the most scored in a game featuring either club in the past month.
“From my perspective, it’s not a great way to go about things,” said Price, who made 27 saves. “But it doesn’t matter how we get it done, as long as we get it done. We know we have a lot of skill on this team. We have a lot of guys who can finish.”
Montreal finally found its scoring touch on the fourth stop of its five-game road trip after managing just five combined goals in the first three games, including losses at Anaheim and San Jose. After Shaw’s goal early in the third period forced extra time, Radulov put an offensive flourish on the shootout with an exceptional backhand goal moments before Byron’s winner.
“When the whole team is playing hard and we get it going, it’s hard to play against us,” Radulov said.
“It’s always nice to score, but it’s huge for us to get going and get our confidence back.”
Pacioretty had a chance to end the shootout in the third round, but Budaj stopped him. Byron then ended it after Tanner Pearson missed for the Kings.
Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist apiece for the Kings, who lost for only the second time in eight games. Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots, but the Kings have given up 11 goals in three games during their worst defensive stretch since the opening days of the season.
NOTES: The Canadiens beat the Kings 4-1 in Montreal on Nov. 10.
Canadiens: The road trip concludes at St. Louis on Tuesday night.
Kings: Host Carolina on Thursday night.