Just getting back to the Bell Centre wasn't enough to get the Habs back on the winning track.
Chris Kreider scored shorthanded, Jaroslav Halak turned aside 17 shots and the New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 Thursday night.
This was the Habs' first home game since Dec. 17. They compiled a 1-5-1 record during their holiday break.
The only small consolation for the Habs on Thursday was that they didn't give up in the third period despite a three-goal deficit. Joel Armia even scored his first goal since April 11, ending a 29-game drought.
Braden Schneider and Filip Chytil also scored twice for the Rangers (22-12-6), who won their third straight game.
Jake Allen stopped 28 shots in front of the net for the Canadiens (15-21-3), who have lost their last seven games (0-6-1).
Forward Brendan Gallagher missed the game with the same lower-body injury that sidelined him for most of December. Mike Hoffman and Justin Barron were also left out. Evgenii Dadonov, Joel Armia and Johnathan Kovacevic were inserted into the lineup.
The Canadiens will host the St. Louis Blues Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
Both teams played cautiously early in the game, and scoring opportunities were few and far between.
Dadonov had the first shot on goal for the Habs 16:52 into the game.
The game came to life in the second period. Kreider opened the scoring shorthanded 7:43 into the game on a breakaway.
Jonathan Drouin came close to scoring his first goal in more than a year on a two-on-one rush, but hit the post. Seconds later, Schneider extended the lead to 2-0, surprising Allen from the top of the slot at 12:28.
The Rangers came right back at it 59 seconds later. This time, Allen couldn't help himself as Chytil's shot deflected off Nick Suzuki before catching him off guard.
Jake Evans missed a great opportunity to get the Habs back on track before the end of the second period. However, he was unable to push the puck into an open net after a shot from David Savard changed direction.
The Habs had looked like they were giving up in the third period in all four losses after the Christmas break, but that was not the case on Thursday.
The local players multiplied their attacks in the third period. After a few unsuccessful attacks, Armia denied Halak a shutout by beating him with 5:41 left on the clock.
The 29-year-old Finn then hit the post with just under three minutes to go, coming close to making the end of the game a little more interesting.
Chytil restored the Rangers' three-goal cushion by scoring into an empty net with 70 seconds left.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 5, 2023.
