HABS SPELL RELIEF: W-I-N
Canadiens coach Claude Julien and players Max Domi, from left, Nick Suzuki and Nick Cousins celebrate as Montreal finally snapped its eight-game losing streak, beating the Islanders 4-2 at the Bell Centre Tuesday night.
CANADIENS 4, ISLANDERS 2
The Canadiens turned in their best defensive performance of the season Tuesday night, but they found themselves hanging on by a thread before ending their eight-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders.
This game was close at the end because the Islanders pulled goaltender Thomas Greiss and Mathew Barzal scored with 2:29 to play to close the gap to one goal, but Shea Weber’s empty-netter sealed the win.
Building on strong, albeit losing efforts, against the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal put it all together in front of a Bell Centre crowd that included 11 former captains who were honoured before the game as the team celebrated its 110th anniversary.
The Canadiens scored a goal in each period and provided Carey Price with support as they limited the Islanders to 23 shots on goal. The win ended an 0-5-3 string for Montreal.
The Canadiens, who have had a bad habit of giving up goals in the final minute of the period, displayed some last-second heroics to open the scoring.
Defence ruled in the opening period as the Canadiens, whose defence ranks 29th in the NHL, played the Islanders to a standstill before taking the lead on Phillip Danault’s goal with one-tenth of a second remaining in the period.
Danault displayed a good second effort after taking a drop pass from Brendan Gallagher. His first shot was blocked, but he kept going to the net and buried the rebound.
Prior to Danault’s goal, the Canadiens had the best scoring chance late in the period when Matthew Peca, who was recalled from the Laval Rocket Monday, set up Nate Thompson as he crashed the net. Greiss had trouble locating the puck between his pads, but he recovered and closed his glove over the puck before Jordan Weal could get a stick on it.
Montreal picked up the pace in the second period and were outshooting the Islanders 11-2 when Gallagher scored his team-leading 11th goal.
Shea Weber took a shot from the blue line and it was probably a combination of Weber’s velocity and Gallagher waving his stick in the air, but Greiss had trouble controlling the puck. It dropped in the crease and Gallagher drove it home.
Jeff Petry scored the Canadiens’ third goal when he beat a screened Greiss with a harmless-looking wrist shot from the blue line to give Montreal a 3-0 lead early in the third period. Price lost his shutout 41 seconds later when Scott Mayfield scored.
Montreal’s defensive effort extended to the penalty kill, which has been near the bottom of the league all season.
The Islanders had the only three power plays in the game, but they failed to score. Price played a key role in this area by turning aside eight shots.
Montreal is home to the Colorado Avalanche Thursday (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio) and the team travels to New York to play the Rangers Friday.