Tomas Plekanec scored a goal and set up three others Saturday as the Montreal Canadiens posted a rare home win over the Carolina Hurricanes with a 7-2 thrashing.
The Hurricanes had not lost at the Bell Centre since Dec. 6, 2003, and were 8-0-2 since the 2005-06 season in Montreal.
Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Maxim Lapierre, Benoit Pouliot, Andrei Kostitsyn and Mathieu Darche also scored for the Canadiens (11-5-1), who have won three in a row and four of their last five. The seven goals was a season high for Montreal.
Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos scored for Carolina (8-9-0), which was coming off an 8-1 loss at home to the Philadelphia Flyers.
For a second game in a row, Carolina starter Cam Ward was lifted in the second period for Justin Peters.
Ward, who stopped 18 of 22 shots, is 11-4-2 in his career against the Habs and had not lost in regulation time in his previous seven meetings with Montreal. Peters stopped eight of 11 shots.
The win may have been costly for Montreal as defenceman Andrei Markov, who returned only seven games ago from knee surgery, was helped off favouring his right leg after a collision with Eric Staal. The two players crossed in front of each other and their knees collided while chasing a puck in the corner. There was no immediate word on Markov's condition.
'Game turned on a bounce'
The Hurricanes owned most of the first period, but were thwarted on 15 shots by Carey Price. The game turned on a bounce as Travis Moen threw the puck toward the Carolina net that got through Joni Pitkanen's skates. Plekanec was there to bang it in at 11:18.
Plekanec then put a pass across to crease for Cammalleri to score his first goal in nine games at 18:32.
The Hurricanes tied it as Babchuk crept in from the point to score on Eric Staal's feed on a power play at 9:08 before former Canadien Kostopoulos fired a Staal pass in off a stick at 11:21.
Montreal got goals one minute apart as Gionta, with his third in four games, lifted one over Ward on a rush and Lapierre was sent in alone, did a spin in front of the crease and slid the puck in at 15:34.
That prompted coach Paul Maurice to lift Ward for Peters, who was down in the crease when Pouliot scored on a power play at 18:09.
Price, who has allowed only three goals in his last three games, made a glittering save midway through the third as he reached his glove out to rob Chad Larose from scoring into an open side, drawing a big ovation from the crowd of 21,273.
Kostitsyn scored on a power play and Darche got a goal late in the game.
