COLORADO SHUT OUT
Avs have lost 9 of their last 10
MONTREAL» The Montreal Canadiens needed a full-team effort to shut down the NHL’S best offensive line.
Carey Price stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the season as the Canadiens beat the Avalanche 3-0 on Saturday night.
Brett Kulak, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordie Benn all scored in the third period for the Canadiens, who had lost three of their last four games. Price got his 43rd career shutout.
Colorado’s Nathan Mackinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen — who have combined for 73 goals and 112 assists this season — hardly threatened Price, firing a total five shots on net.
“We played them well,” Price said. “They’re a good line and we did an excellent job tonight.”
The Avalanche’s top trio has scored nearly half of the team’s goals but it was harmless against the Canadiens, who clogged up the neutral zone and limited the visitors’ chances.
“Obviously they’re one of the best lines in the league,” Montreal captain Shea Weber said. “Dangerous from one side to the other. We talked about not just the five guys that are out there, there are other guys that had to play against them and everybody did a good job tonight.”
Semyon Varlamov gave up two goals on 30 shots for the slumping Avalanche, loser of nine of its last 10 (1-7-2).
‘Mackinnon saw his eightgame point streak snapped while Landeskog’s three-game multipoint streak ended.
“We didn’t give them much space,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said of the Mackinnon line.
After two scoreless periods, Kulak scored his second of the season to break the deadlock.
“We got running around, an extended shift, Montreal kept it in our zone,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of the reaction to Kulak’s goal. “Probably their best shift of the game, and not so much on our side. There was probably some disappointment from our guys, maybe hanging their heads for a couple of seconds. Next thing you know, Montreal turns it on and gets the second one.
“That’s how our game’s been going right now.”
“We have to stick together and find a way through this,” Landeskog said. “We can’t look at anybody else and hope that we’re going to get help. We have to come together and figure a way out of this. And I have no doubt we will, but nonetheless it’s frustrating.”