Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) – Jiri Sekac and Lars Eller each had a goal
and an assist to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota
Wild.
Brendan Gallagher and Max Pacioretty each had a goal for the Canadiens, who
have won two straight following a three-game skid. Carey Price stopped 30
shots in the win.
“We made a lot of good decisions tonight,” said Price. “By moving the puck out
of our zone, we obviously were using our speed again. I thought we played a
pretty solid game, all around.”
Jason Pominville had the only goal of the game for the Wild, who have dropped
three straight. Darcy Kuemper was charged with all four goals on 31 shots.
“That’s frustrating when you’re losing games the way you did last year,” said
Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo. “I would think that we’ve learned those lessons
and use that knowledge to turn things around.”
The Canadiens got on the board at 9:26 of the second as Gallagher skated down
the right wing and he fired a big blast from the circle that sailed over the
glove of Kuemper.
Minnesota tied the game at 14:59 of the second on a rush play as Thomas Vanek
skated down to the left circle and sent a saucer pass to the front where
Pominville redirected the puck in.
Montreal, though, took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission as a confused
sequence at the right circle saw Eller snap the puck in for his third of the
year.
The Canadiens put the game away with a pair of goals separated by 1:18 in the
early part of the third.
At 4:46, Sekac was credited with his second goal of the season when he tipped
the puck in down low. Brandon Prust had been pushed into the net by Nino
Niederreiter prior to the goal, but the refs ruled there was no goaltender
interference.
A bit later, Pacioretty finished off a rush with a one-timer from the slot for
his sixth of the year and a 4-1 lead.
Game Notes
In a pregame ceremony, Montreal retired defenseman Guy Lapointe’s No. 5 jersey
… Montreal hosts Winnipeg on Tuesday … Minnesota plays in New Jersey on
Tuesday … These clubs split two games last season, with each squad winning
at home.
