Byron nets shootout winner over Flyers
PAT HICKEY
The skinny: Paul Byron scored the winning goal in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Canadiens a 3- 2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Friday night at the Bell Centre. Montreal now has a 5- 1 record in shootouts this season. Mike Condon kept the Canadiens alive in the overtime, using a skate save to steer a Brayden Schenn breakaway attempt wide and then stopping Pierre- Edouard Bellemare while the Flyers’ Michal Neuvirth made big saves on Alex Galchenyuk and Tomas Plekanec in the final minute. Where they’re at: With the win, the Canadiens have 60 points and moved back into 12th place in the East. They are six points behind eighth- place Tampa Bay and the Lightning has two games in hand. Short- lived lead: Dale Weise gave the Canadiens a 1- 0 lead at 2: 56 of the first period when his centring pass from behind the net caromed in off the skate of Flyers’ defenceman Nick Schultz. The Canadiens didn’t have time to savour the lead because Nick Cousins tied the score eight seconds later. Cousins was charging down the right wing when he launched a 40- footer to the far post on Condon’s glove side. Canadiens come back: It was the Canadiens’ turn to tie the game in the third period. Michael Raffl redirected a pass from Shayne Gostisbehere to give the Flyers a 2- 1 lead. The assist extended Gostisbehere’s consecutive- games scoring steak to 14 with four goals and 13 assists. Only Paul Stastny ( 20 games) and Teemu Selanne ( 17) have had longer streaks as a rookie. Max Pacioretty pulled the Canadiens even when he scored a power- play goal at 8: 35. It was his 21st goal of the season. Gilbert exits: Tom Gilbert, whose name has popped up in trade rumours, left the game in the second period with a lower- body injury. Gilbert was turning in a strong effort when he was struck in the foot by a shot. If the Canadiens are planning to trade him, it will be difficult to make a deal if he’s on the limp. Cheers for P. K.: The crowd showed its support for P. K. Subban by chanting “P- K, P- K” on several occasions, starting when he first touched the puck one minute into the game. The chants may have prompted a complaint to l’office québécois de la langue française that the crowd should have been chanting “PayKa, Pay- Ka.” Subban assisted on the first two Montreal goals. Special teams update: There were several boos when the Canadiens’ power play failed to produce anything resembling a scoring chance. The Canadiens were 0- for- 3 with the extra man and managed only three shots on goal before Pacioretty scored in the third period. The Flyers weren’t any better. They went 0- for- 3 but they had six shots on net. What’s next: The Canadiens have three games on tap next week before heading to California. They are home to the Nashville Predators on Monday, travel to Washington on Wednesday and close out the week with a home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.