Canadiens defeat Senators behind Allen and Anderson
OTTAWA, Ontario – Jake Allen is adapting well to his role as Carey Price’s backup with the Montreal Canadiens.
Allen made 34 saves in winning for the fourth time in five starts and Josh Anderson broke a tie early in the third period to lead the Canadiens to a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
“That’s why I’ve been brought in here, to give Carey some rest,” Allen said. “He’s played the most minutes in the league the last five, six years.”
Allen was acquired from St. Louis this past offseason in exchange for thirdand seventh-round draft choices in the 2020 draft and a seventh in 2022.
Jeff Petry also scored as Montreal gave coach Claude Julien his 200th win with the franchise.
Colin White scored for Ottawa, which was playing its first home game since Jan. 21. Matt Murray had 30 saves for the Senators, who beat the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal on Thursday for their only win on a seven-game road trip (1-6-0).
Despite the loss, forward Derek Stepan was pleased with the Senators’ play of late.
“I think our last six periods, we’re starting to trend to the direction of the way we want to play,” Stepan said. “It’s a good hockey club over there. I felt like we did some very good things for six periods.”
The Senators were hoping to win back-to-back games for the first time this season. Ottawa won its first game of the season back on Jan. 15, only to go winless in their next nine games prior to Thursday.
Anderson scored the game-winner 1:35 into the final period, knocking in a rebound for his fourth goal in three games and eighth of the season. Murray made saves on shots by Jonathan Drouin and Nick Suzuki before Anderson tallied.
Petry opened the scoring at 6:10 of the first period with a power-play goal. He fired the puck from the blueline, with the puck deflecting off an Ottawa player’s stick before beating Murray. The Canadiens had been unsuccessful in their last eight power-play opportunities prior to the goal.
A little under six minutes later, White tied it with his second goal of the season. It also was on a power play and was set up by Stepan and Josh Norris.
Petry has four goals in the last three games.
The Canadiens improved to 8-2-2, while the basement-dwelling Senators fell to 2-9-1.
Montreal returns to action Wednesday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ottawa will continue a three-game homestand on Monday, facing the Edmonton Oilers.
UNIONDALE, NY – Anders Lee scored on the power play late in the third period to lift the New York Islanders over the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Saturday night, snapping a five-game skid.
Lee scored with 2:44 left after Pittsburgh’s Teddy Blueger was penalized for delay of game. It was the fourth goal this season for the Islanders captain. Ryan Pulock and Mathew Barzal had assists.
Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves for the Islanders.
Jake Guentzel put the Penguins ahead 3-2 at 3:19 of the third before Cal Clutterbuck tied it for the Islanders with his first goal of the season at 8:23.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby assisted on Guentzel’s fourth goal of the season. Crosby has 114 points against the Islanders, the most of any active player against one team.
Jordan Eberle opened the scoring for the Islanders with a slick backhand goal at 10:22 of the first period.
Pittsburgh tied it when rookie defenseman Pierre-Oliver Joseph scored his first NHL goal, beating Varlamov with a shot from the left circle at 13:43. Crosby immediately scooped up the souvenir puck for his 21-yearold teammate, who was acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade that send forward Phil Kessel to Arizona in June 2019.
Eberle scored his second of the game and fifth of the season at 15:45 of the first.
The Penguins had the better of play in the second and finally tied it for a second time when Evgeni Malkin benefited from a turnover in the Islanders’ zone and buried the puck past Varlamov at 19:44.
It was the second goal this season for Malkin, who has 31 goals and 48 assists in 65 career games against the Islanders. Only Crosby has more points against the Islanders among active players.
Both teams were coming off a week of two postponed games each because of COVID-19 precautions. Pittsburgh’s two home games – scheduled for Feb. 2 and 4 against the New Jersey Devils – were postponed by the league, and the Islanders’ two home contests against Buffalo were similarly postponed.
The Islanders had last played on Sunday, a 4-3 overtime loss at Philadelphia to finish an 0-3-2 road trip.
Pittsburgh’s previous game was a 3-1 road loss against the Rangers on Monday. The Penguins are on a seven-game road trip, their longest since an eight-game trip in 1997.
The Islanders are 4-1-0 when scoring first.
MILESTONES Varlamov played his 500th career game, becoming the 76th goaltender in NHL history to reach that mark.
COACHING WINS Islander coach Barry Trotz has 849 victories, tied with Ken Hitchcock as third-winningest coach in league history behind Scotty Bowman with 1,244 wins and Florida’s Joel Quenneville.
SOLID ATTENDANCE
The Islanders have three players with consecutive game streaks of at least 240 games with Anders Lee 278, Brock Nelson 255 and Mathew Barzal at 242.
UP NEXT Islanders: Visit the New York Rangers on Monday.
Penguins: Visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.