4-2 win snaps Avs’ 10-game win streak
CANADIENS 4, AVALANCHE 2
The bottom line: The Canadiens cooled off the hottest team in the NHL Tuesday night as they posted a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado arrived in Montreal on a 10-game winning streak, the longest winning streak in the NHL this season. The Canadiens took advantage of the schedule that had the Avalanche playing Monday in Toronto. It was the first time the Avalanche faced back-toback games in its streak. The Canadiens out-shot the visitors 40-22.
Deslauriers delivers: Nicolas Deslauriers opened the scoring when he beat Jonathan Bernier from the slot at 5:42 of the second period. Jonathan Drouin did some good things leading up to the goal. He won a faceoff, forced a turnover and attempted to get the puck to the net. His shot didn’t get through, but Deslauriers picked up the loose puck and scored his seventh goal.
Special teams shine: Alex Galchenyuk scored his 12th goal of the season on the power play at 7:58 of the second period to put Montreal ahead 2-0. Drouin passed to Paul Byron in the slot, but Byron relayed the puck to Galchenyuk, who was moving in from the right wall. It was Galchenyuk’s seventh goal on the power play. Byron picked up a point for a fifth consecutive game. The Canadiens went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Avalanche, who arrived with the eighth-best power play in the league, went 0-for-4 with the extra man. Drouin caps three-point night:
Drouin added to his points total when he scored his seventh goal of the season at 12:36 of the third period. He drove to the net and redirected Jeff Petry’s pass from the right boards. Brendan Gallagher added an empty-net goal for his 17th of the season and J.T. Compher scored for Colorado with 11.7 seconds remaining.
Drouin vs. MacKinnon: This game matched former Halifax Mooseheads junior teammates. Drouin had the edge on this night as he collected a goal and two assists. Nathan MacKinnon, among the leaders in the NHL scoring race, ended Carey Price’s shutout bid when he scored his 24th goal of the season on a shot from the blue-line at 14:11 of the third period.
Coming up: The Canadiens will face the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre Thursday (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio) in the club’s final game before the NHL All-Star break.