NHL Playoffs: Montreal hands Ottawa some payback. Habs win 3-1
White ignites three-goal second; teams play hockey, avoid retaliation
MONTREAL Ryan White ignited a three-goal second period and Carey Price was back in top form in net with 29 saves as the Montreal Canadiens downed the Ottawa Senators, 3-1.
That evened their first-round National Hockey League Eastern Conference playoff series Friday night.
The best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final is tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 on Sunday in Ottawa.
Brendan Gallagher and Michael Ryder also scored for Montreal, while Milan Michalek replied for Ottawa, who looked flat and were let down by a power play that went 0-for-4.
There was anticipation of rough play after Eric Gryba’s hit that saw Montreal’s Lars Eller stretchered off the Bell Centre ice with a concussion and some missing teeth in Ottawa’s 4-2 win in the series opener on Thursday night.
Eller spent the night in hospital and was released Friday morning.
But the teams stuck to hockey in an uneventful game.
Price was criticized for two goals that went between his pads in the opener.
But he was sharp throughout Game 2 as Montreal outshot the Senators 34-30 and found ways to get pucks past Craig Anderson, who was coming off a 48-save effort.
Montreal broke the ice with two quick goals early in the second frame. White skated hard into the Ottawa zone and was there to bat Erik Karlsson’s backhand pass out of the air and between Anderson’s pads at 3:20.
Only 53 seconds slater, Alex Galchenyuk took the rebound of a Francis Bouillon shot and slipped it across to Gallagher for the rookie’s second goal of the series.
Ottawa had an extra man on for a delayed penalty call when Michalek scored at 8:16.
A sliding pad save by Price during an Ottawa power play proved to be big, as Montreal killed it off and then scored as Rene Bourque slid the puck through a scramble to Ryder for a shot into an open side at 18:57.
Price went to the bench after apparently losing a tooth in a collision in front of his net. In game 1, Anderson lost a tooth when hit in the mask by a Bourque shot. NOTES: Gryba served the first of a two-game suspension for his Game 1 hit on Eller and was replaced by André Benoit. Tough guy Matt Kassian replaced Cory Conacher and started the game on a rugged line with Chris Neil and Zach Smith. … With Eller as well as Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta (upper-body injuries) out, Jeff Halpern, Colby Armstrong and Gabriel Dumont were suited up for Montreal. … The Canadiens were 7-1-1 in the second game of back-to-back contests this season.