The Montreal Canadiens scored twice within the first 10 minutes to cruise to a 4-0 victory over the embattled Carolina Hurricanes in Montreal Thursday.
Dale Weise scored his 10th and added an assist, while Carey Price turned back 31 shots for the clean sheet.
“I'm very satisfied. I liked everybody’s involvement. It could have been a tricky game. It’s the sort of game that strikes fear into a coach. You should never underestimate the Hurricanes. We often have a tendency to look at the big picture but it’s a team that works hard and isn’t always easy to play against them,” said Coach Michel Therrien to a scrum of reporters after the game.
Price now has eight shutouts on the season, one fewer than league leader Marc-Andre Fleury of the Penguins. Price also recorded his 39th victory, outstripping his previous high from 2010-11, while raising his save percentage to a league-best .937.
Brendan Gallagher scored his 20th, David Desharnais his 12th and Max Pacioretty scored his 35th of the season to round out the scoring.
Anton Khudobin stopped 18-of-22 shots in defeat for Carolina (26-35-9), which has lost five of its last six games.
Montreal has now won five straight encounters versus the Hurricanes.
The Habs set the tone early with first-period goals from Weise and Gallagher, and Montreal hardly looked back.
Fourth-liner Weise slotted home his 10th of the year at 5:51, jumping on a juicy rebound after Khudobin made the initial save on Manny Malhotra.
Three minutes later, Gallagher scored his career-high 20th goal of the season by swiping a backhand up and over Khudobin's shoulder.
The shots were 7-1 in favour of Montreal at that point.
Price was busier in the second period. The league leader in save percentage and goals-against average made back-to-back stops on Nathan Gerbe and Alexander Semin midway through the frame before making a dramatic toe save on Brad Malone a minute later.
The Canadiens rewarded their goalie's efforts late in the period by padding Montreal's lead. On a delayed penalty against Carolina, Desharnais made it 3-0 at 18:48 by sneaking behind an unsuspecting Eric Staal to tap in a cross-crease pass by defenceman Tom Gilbert.
With an assist on the goal, Weise recorded his first multi-point game since Feb. 8.
The Hurricanes pressed for a goal in the third period as they outshot Montreal 17-4. But it was Pacioretty who found the back of the net at 14:46-- banking the puck in off Khudobin from a near-impossible angle.
With 90 seconds on the clock, Price preserved his shutout by stopping Victor Rask on a breakaway.
Habs happy with result
“There’s never an easy game in this league but tonight it was a bit easier,” said David Desharnais. “All four lines contributed to the win.”
With a dozen games left and no risk of missing the playoffs, the Canadiens need to stay concentrated on the task, one player noted.
“There’s so much going on with us, I think you have to have a very strong focus level and not get too ahead of yourself,” said Brendan Gallagher.
Blueliner Tom Gilbert saluted his team’s effort.
“I think guys felt fresher. We focused on our team game. We got a lot of pucks deep. We got on the forecheck and tried to get them to make mistakes,” said Tom Gilbert, who made a nifty pass for an assist on the Desharnais goal.
Notes: Cam Ward missed the game with the flu. Montreal-born Danny Biega, recalled from the AHL's Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday, played his first career NHL game. The 23-year-old finished with a minus-2 rating. Staal is without a point in his last four games. Price needs one more shutout to reach 34 in his career, which would tie him with Bill Durnan for fourth on the all-time Habs list.
Canadiens 4, Hurricanes 0
First Period
1. Montreal, Weise 10 (Malhotra, Prust) 5:51.
2. Montreal, Gallagher 20 (Plekanec, Pacioretty) 8:42.
Penalties -- Pacioretty Mtl (interference) 15:35, Terry Car (Embellishment) 15:35.
Second Period
3. Montreal, Desharnais 12 (Gilbert, Weise) 18:48.
Penalties -- None.
Third Period
4. Montreal, Pacioretty 35 (Plekanec) 14:46.
Penalties -- Nestrasil Car (slashing) 9:54, Galchenyuk Mtl (slashing) 17:39.
Shots on goal by Carolina 4 11 15 -- 30 Montreal 10 7 5 -- 22
Goal -- Power plays (goal-chances) -- Carolina: 0-1; Montreal: 0-1. at Montreal.
-With files from The Canadian Press
