Balanced offence, dedication to defence lead to convincing win

The skinny: A maturing Lars Eller, a mature Erik Cole and a precocious Alex Galchenyuk each scored a goal, but it was the defence that stole the show Saturday night as the Canadiens blanked the New York Rangers 3-0 at the Bell Centre. Carey Price’s job was made easier as Montreal limited the Rangers to 17 shots and blocked another 18. Dodging a bullet: The NHL decided not to impose any supplementary discipline on Max Pacioretty, who was handed a minor penalty for boarding Ryan McDonagh in the second period. The decision was made after a telephone hearing Sunday. McDonagh suffered a concussion in the incident and was one of two Rangers to leave the game. Defenceman Dan Girardi took a P.K. Subban slapshot off his right ankle late in the third period. There are no broken bones, but Girardi is walking gingerly. Old King Cole: Head coach Michel Therrien said he expects more from veteran Erik Cole and he got it in this game. Cole has brought his strong work ethic to the rink most nights, but Saturday he showed some jump as he joined youngsters Eller and Galchenyuk. Cole had an assist to go with his goal and contributed to a solid defensive effort with three blocked shots. Spreading the workload: Trying to assign numbers to the Canadiens’ lines is difficult because a different line steps up every night. The Galchenyuk-Eller-Cole line did the job against the Rangers, but the offence has been balanced all season. Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec share the team scoring lead with 13 points, but five other players have at least 10 points. The balance has allowed Therrien to manage the ice time for his lines. He rolled four of them and every forward had at least 11 minutes of ice time. Unsung hero: You won’t find his name on the scoresheet — it was there until they took away an assist on Cole’s goal — but Brandon Prust deserved one of the three stars. He didn’t practise on Friday and was a game-time decision, but he played with his usual reckless abandon as he took the ailing Rene Bourque’s spot on a line with Plekanec and Brian Gionta. He was on the ice for 18:23 in all situations and the only forward with more ice time was Plekanec with 18:32. No. 1 with an asterisk: The Canadiens remain No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, but they are facing a challenge from Northeast Division rival Boston. The Bruins are two points behind the Canadiens and they also hold three games in hand. What’s next: The Canadiens hit the road for games Monday in Ottawa ( 7:30 p.m., TSN-Habs, RDS, TSN690 Radio) and Wednesday in Toronto ( 7:30 p.m., TSN, RDS, TSN690 Radio). They return home to play Pittsburgh on Saturday before embarking on a five-game road trip that will take them to Boston, Long Island, Carolina, Tampa and Sunrise, Fla.