DROUIN DOMINATION
Canadiens fire 53 shots on net
Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin was all over the Bell Centre ice Thursday night, firing nine shots at the Winnipeg goal, scoring twice and adding two assists. The Habs won their third straight, downing the high-flying Jets 5-2. Pat Hickey reports
CANADIENS 5, JETS 2
Jonathan Drouin scored two goals and Carey Price extended his winning streak to seven games as the Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 Thursday at Bell Centre.
The victory allowed the Canadiens to leapfrog Boston into third place in the Atlantic Division with 68 points, but the idle Bruins hold a game in hand.
Drouin gave the Canadiens their first lead at 2-1 when he scored 43 seconds into the second period. Phillip Danault sent Drouin off on an odd-man rush with Brendan Gallagher and Drouin kept the puck and went upstairs on Connor Hellebuyck’s glove hand. It was Drouin’s second goal of the night and 17th of the season.
Drouin added an assist on Shea Weber’s ninth goal of the season — a trademark blast from the point — early in the third period. In the last three games, Drouin has scored three goals, including a game-winner, and added six assists. Danault capped a four-point night when he scored off a rebound of a Gallagher shot when the teams were playing 4-on-4 midway through the third period. Danault also had assists on Montreal’s first three goals.
Finally, rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with a power-play goal. It was his 10th of the season. The Canadiens’ power play, which came into the game with the worst conversion rate in the NHL, went 1-for-2. The Jets came into the game with the fourth-best power play in the league, but went 0-for-2.
The Canadiens put the pressure on Winnipeg early in the first period, but Winnipeg took advantage of a Montreal mistake to grab a 1-0 lead at 4:54. Jordie Benn was caught behind Kyle Connor, who came off the bench to take a stretch pass from Ben Chiarot. The result was a 2-on-1 break and Connor set up Mark Scheifele for his 27th goal of the season. Brendan Lemieux added the other Winnipeg goal in the final minute of the game.
Montreal responded at 7:52 of the first period when Drouin scored with a huge assist from Gallagher, who won a battle behind the net and found Drouin in front with a backhand pass.
The Canadiens outshot the Jets 19-11, but the play was even more one-sided because the Jets blocked 10 shots and five more attempts were off the mark. Montreal finished with a 53-34 shot advantage.
The win gave the Canadiens a 3-0-1 record on their current homestand, which concludes Saturday when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Bell Centre.
The game was preceded by a moment of silence for André Boudrias, who died of a heart attack Tuesday at his home in Whistler, B.C. He was 75. Boudrias started his NHL career with the Canadiens and also played for the Canucks, North Stars, Blackhawks and Blues before finishing his career with the Nordiques, He returned to Montreal as a scout and assistant GM. phickey@postmedia.com twitter.com/zababes1