(Denver) The Canadiens players welcomed the return of head coach Martin St-Louis by beating the team of the hour in the NHL.
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Joel Armia broke the tie late in the first period, Samuel Montembeault made 27 saves and the Montreal club defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
St-Louis was back behind the Canadiens bench after a four-game absence. He went to the bedside of his youngest son Mason, who was injured during a hockey game. St-Louis said early Tuesday that his son’s condition was now stable.
His players celebrated his return by stopping the Avalanche’s winning streak at nine.
The Canadian thus concluded his five-game trip with a 2-2-1 record.
Nick Suzuki also scored for the Canadian (27-32-12).
Montembeault ended a personal series of six defeats (0-3-3). His last victory dates back to February 27 against the Arizona Coyotes.
The Habs also ended a six-game losing streak in Denver. He hadn’t won in Colorado since the 1er December 2014.
Nathan MacKinnon scored the only goal for the Avalanche (46-21-5). Justus Annunen made 25 saves.
The Canadian will return to the Bell Center on Thursday, when the Philadelphia Flyers are the visitors.
A brilliant performance
The Avalanche opened the scoring after just 43 seconds of play. MacKinnon completed a nice passing game started by Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen. Jonathan Drouin started the sequence by causing a turnover at the Habs blue line.
Suzuki responded just nine seconds later. He made fun of Casey Mittelstadt’s coverage and surprised Annunen with a low shot.
PHOTO DAVID ZALUBOWSKI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Cale Makar and Nick Suzuki
On the sequence Juraj Slafkovsky was credited with an assist. It was his 40e point of the season and thus beat Mario Tremblay’s mark established in 1974-75 for the best season in the history of the Habs by a player aged 19 or younger.
For its part, Suzuki smashed its personal mark with a 67e not this season.
The Avalanche missed several chances to regain the lead in the first period. MacKinnon hit the post on the power play, then Montembeault frustrated Miles Wood with his right pad a little later.
The Canadian took advantage of Annunen’s generosity to take the lead with 5:07 remaining in the first period. The Finnish goalkeeper, who signed a two-year contract extension earlier in the day, escaped a long shot from Alex Newhook. Armia grabbed the puck behind him and came around the net to slide it into the opening.
The Avalanche was unlucky again before the end of the first period. This time, it was Rantanen who saw his throw hit the crossbar.
The Canadian was bottled up in his territory early in the second period, but the Avalanche was unable to take advantage.
MacKinnon had the best chance, but it hit the outside of the net when he appeared to have a gaping cage in front of him after a favorable jump from the boards.
The Avalanche increased the pressure in the third period. Drouin missed the target from the slot early in the period, then MacKinnon was also inaccurate towards mid-period, after breaking through the Canadian’s defense.
The Avalanche’s indiscipline at the end of the game helped the Habs wind down the final minutes. Sean Walker was punished for hooking and then received a double minor for high sticking shortly after returning with 5:03 left in the final period.
reference: www.lapresse.ca