The San Jose Sharks got goals from four different players as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Friday night to extend their winning streak to four games.
David Schlemko, Patrick Marleau, Timo Meier and Melker Karlsson scored for the visiting Sharks (19-11-1). Goalie Martin Jones made 26 saves.
Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry scored in the third period for the Habs (19-7-4).
Carey Price, who is still looking for his 250th NHL win, was pulled in the second period after conceding four goals on 18 shots.
READ MORE: Habs’ mascot Youppi! guest hosts Global News Morning in Montreal
Al Montoya made five saves in relief. Losing 4-0 in the third, the Canadiens made a game of it but ran out of time. Montreal has only beaten San Jose once in the last six years (1-7-1).
Despite being pulled, Price was hardly to blame as the Habs looked sloppy from the get-go. Michel Therrien’s men were on three days rest after Monday’s overtime loss to the Bruins.
Get breaking National news
Montreal got into penalty trouble early on and it cost them. The home side took three minor penalties in the game’s first eight minutes and San Jose scored on two of them.
READ MORE: ‘The Night Before Christmas’ read by Montreal Canadiens players
With Paul Byron in the box for hooking, Schlemko got the ball rolling with his first goal of the year, beating a screened Pricetop shelf with a wrister from the half wall.
With the Sharks on another power play two minutes later, Marleau made it 2-0 from the slot after blown coverage by Alexei Emelin.
Still in the first period, the 20-year-old Meier, making his NHL debut, added San Jose’s third at 13:18.
The Sharks chased Price from the game at 6:44 of the second after Karlsson made it 4-0 by batting a bouncing puck into the roof of the net.
It was the first time Price was pulled from a game (not due to injury) since Oct. 13, 2014.
READ MORE: Habs leading scorer Galchenyuk out indefinitely with lower-body injury
Down 4-0, the Canadiens upped the pressure late in the third.
Flynn ended Jones’ shutout bid with 9:32 remaining in the period before Petry scored his fifth of the season with 6:12 left on the clock.
Andrew Shaw was out of the lineup with concussion-like symptoms. Shaw took an elbow to the head from Boston’s Torey Krug in Monday’s overtime loss to the Bruins. Winger Sven Andrighetto started in his place.
Michael McCarron made his season debut for the Canadiens. He had an assist on Montreal’s second goal.
This was the first game of a back-to-back for Montreal. The team travels to Washington face the Capitals on Saturday.
Comments