Montembeault makes 36 saves for Montreal, which is 4-0-1 in past 5 games
Canadiens at Jets | Recap
WINNIPEG — Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson each had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens won 5-1 against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday.
“It was nice to get rewarded tonight,” Anderson said. “I thought we’ve been playing some pretty good hockey lately as a line (with Gallagher and Phillip Danault), so getting on the forecheck and trying to create energy for our group — tonight, they just went in for us. It was nice.”
Sam Montembeault made 36 saves for the Canadiens (32-17-8), who have points in five straight (4-0-1). Noah Dobson had two assists.
“[Montembeault] had a great game,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “I think he was a big part of why we were able to get the result tonight, because early on it could have been worse. We could have dug ourselves in a bigger hole, but I think he allowed us to get going, and once we got going and separated, [it] allowed us to keep it that way. I thought as a team we played an excellent third [period], but I think it starts with some of the stuff that ‘Monty’ was doing, so I’m really happy for him.”
MTL@WPG: Gallagher extends the lead with a PPG and 4-1 lead
Kyle Connor scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for the Jets (22-26-8), who have lost five of seven (2-3-2).
“Montembeault was good. He played well,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “He made some big stops. The chances ended up being 14-10 for us at 5-on-5. That’s not counting the 6-on-5 stuff at the end. We had a lot of chances and we should-have-could-have. It would have been nice to get out of that first period up 1-0. But at the end of the day, we had enough offense to win that game. Our couple of mistakes went the other way and they capitalized on their [scoring chances].”
Connor made it 1-0 Jets at 6:07 of the first period, scoring on the power play when Gabriel Vilardi set him up with a cross-slot pass for a one-timer from the right circle.
“We obviously jumped out to a lead, and it was a good start,” Connor said. “We didn’t take care of our forecheck well enough to cover their D coming up the ice. … Just smarter reads getting pucks through and quickly out of our defensive zone, and just simplifying a bit and almost turned into, hey, we had a lot of great chances too. Their goalie made some good saves, and they capitalize on theirs.”
Oliver Kapanen tied it 1-1 at 16:26, collecting the rebound from Dobson’s point shot and putting it behind Hellebuyck.
“It was kind of a little bit of a slow start for us,” Anderson said. “Bad penalty by me, they score, and then I think we started to turn around at the end of the first period and then kind of took over from there. We had a lot of good chances tonight, and obviously Monty made some unbelievable saves. He played really solid for us. So it was a huge game for us knowing that it was the last one before the break.”
Anderson made it 2-1 Canadiens at 5:28 of the second period, with a net-front tip on Jayden Struble’s point shot.
“It felt like a little bit of a slow start, but we kind of found our legs, found our game,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “And probably late in the first [period], we kind of controlled the rest of the game. And that was good, I think from everybody.
“We would be in a big hole to start (without Montembeault). He was sharp right away, saved ourselves from getting a big hole.”
MTL@WPG: Anderson tips puck home in front
Lane Hutson made it 3-1 at 6:44, taking Anderson’s cross-ice backhand pass and lifting it off the post and over Hellebuyck’s shoulder.
“Some of the guys were saying it was a nice pass by me, but I was like, what a pick-up by him,” Anderson said. “And then for him to go short side like that was sweet. So it was a really nice goal by him.”
Gallagher pushed it to 4-1 on the power play at 10:57 of the third period. Zachary Bolduc’s backhand saucer pass down low found Kirby Dach, who went skate-to-stick to set Gallagher up for a chip-in at the edge of the crease.
“I mean, the good news is we’ve got a lot to work on and we’re still finding ways to win,” Hutson said. “So it’s encouraging for sure.”
Danault scored short-handed into an empty net at 19:46 for the 5-1 final.
“We knew they’re a fast team,” Jets forward Nino Niederreiter said. “So we were focused on playing fast, make sure we get the pucks behind them and make their D turn. I think we did a good job overall, but we couldn’t win. We had enough chances to win this game.”
NOTES: Connor’s goal was his 25th of the season, giving him nine consecutive 25-goal seasons. It is the second-longest active streak of 25-goal seasons in the NHL, trailing Auston Matthews (10) of the Toronto Maple Leafs. … The Canadiens are 16-6-7 on the road this season. The only teams with more road wins are the Tampa Bay Lightning (19) and Dallas Stars (18). … Kapanen’s 18th goal of the season ties Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke for the NHL lead among rookies.
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