HABS HANG TOUGH, BUT LOSE

Penguins’ skill proves decisive in end

The bottom line: Patric Hornqvist’s second goal of the game proved to be the winner as the Pittsburgh Penguins escaped Montreal with a 5-3 win on Thursday night.

While the Penguins outshot Montreal 39-20, the Canadiens took a 2-0 lead in the first period and kept things close until Hornqvist scored his 22nd goal of the season and 400th point of his career at 12:24 of the third period to give Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead.

He and Evgeni Malkin were both in front of the net and both swiped at Carl Hagelin’s shot from the blue-line. Bryan Rust added an empty-net goal to seal the deal.

It was the first time goalie Antti Niemi has given up more than three goals since joining the Canadiens.

Meanwhile, the win allowed the Penguins to stay even with the Capitals in the battle for the Metropolitan Division lead, but Washington has the edge because they have played two fewer games.

Finn on fire: Artturi Lehkonen deflected Jeff Petry’s shot from the point to open the scoring at 3:15 of the first period. It was the ninth goal of the season for Lehkonen, who has scored four goals in the past three games.

Byron delivers on power play: Paul Byron made it 2-0 when he scored a power-play goal at 6:31. Byron was in the slot when he was set up by Brendan Gallagher for his 17th goal of the season. Alex Galchenyuk picked up his second assist of the night.

Pens roar back: Penguins managed to tie the score by the end of the first period. Rust set up Phil Kessel on a 2-on-1 to put the Penguins on the scoreboard at 10:05. It was the 29th goal of the season for Kessel. The tying goal was a bit of a fluke. Hornqvist tried to pass to Hagelin in front of the net. Byron got his stick on the pass and inadvertently directed it past Niemi at 14:33. Malkin gives Penguins the lead:

Malkin gave Pittsburgh its first lead of the night when he scored a power-play goal at 10:30 of the second period. He beat Niemi with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. It was Malkin’s 40th goal and 88th point this season.

All even after two: Nicolas Deslauriers beat Tristan Jarry for his eighth goal of the season at 12:57 to tie the game. Jonathan Drouin and Daniel Carr earned assists. Good news from Team Clinic:

Goaltender Carey Price joined his teammates for the morning skate on Thursday. Coach Claude Julien said Price isn’t ready to play, but it was encouraging to see him practise for the first time since he suffered a concussion on Feb. 20. There was no sign of forward Andrew Shaw, who was knocked out in a collision with Dallas’s Greg Pateryn Tuesday. Julien noted that Shaw was feeling better.

Coming up: The Canadiens travel to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs in the latest instalment of the NHL’s oldest rivalry on Saturday (7 p.m., CBC, TVA Sports, TSN-690 Radio). The Habs are back home on Monday to play the Florida Panthers.