Canucks downed by in-form Oilers
EDMONTON 2 VANCOUVER 0
EDMONTON — Cam Talbot made 33 saves to record his sixth shutout of the year as the Edmonton Oilers continued their hot play of late with a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Connor McDavid and Mark Letestu scored for the Oilers (38-24-9), who have won three straight games. The Canucks (28-34-9) have now lost six straight.
There was no scoring in the first period, with it tied 8-8 in shots. The Canucks had the best chance, with Christopher Tanev ringing a shot off the post with six minutes to play in the opening frame.
Edmonton finally broke the scoreless deadlock with 3:18 remaining in the second period as McDavid cut in with speed and beat Vancouver goalie Richard Bachman high to the glove side for his 25th goal of the season, putting back in the NHL scoring lead with 80 points.
Talbot made a pair of big saves on Vancouver’s Markus Granlund in the second period, including one just before the buzzer sounded, to keep it 1-0 through 40 minutes.
Vancouver came close to tying it up once again midway through the third, hitting a post.
Then, during a major scrum in front of the Oilers net, the Canucks were unable to push the puck across the goal line.
Edmonton made it 2-0 with 4:38 left in the third period, as Leon Draisaitl made a great cross-ice feed to Letestu, who one-timed a shot past Bachman for his career-best 14th goal of the season.
The Oilers close out a season-high eightgame homestand on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Canucks play the second game of a five-game trip on Tuesday in Chicago.
It was the third of five meetings this season between the two teams. Edmonton won the first game 2-0 in October, with the Canucks taking the second contest 3-2 in a shootout on Dec. 31.
Bachman got just his second start of the season in net for the Canucks.
MONTREAL 4 (SO) OTTAWA 3
OTTAWA — The Montreal Canadiens will take a brief moment to enjoy their 4-3 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators Saturday, but know they need to be ready to face a hungry team again today.
The two will battle once again, this time in Montreal, with first in the Atlantic Division on the line.
With the win, the Canadiens (40-23-8) gained a two-point lead on Ottawa (39-23-8), which still has a game in hand.
“We worked hard, we earned that second point,” said the Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher. “We both want to climb in the standings, it’s so tight. They’re right behind us and these are two big games this weekend. It’s a huge win for us.
“There’s a little bit of hatred, a lot of respect and the compete level and the battle level between the two teams is high.
“It’s the same thing every single time you play them — you better be prepared to work or you’re not going to get the result you want.” —