Canadiens trounce Kings 6-2

MONTREAL, Qc. - Though badly outshot, the Canadiens took early chances and a late scoring burst to secure a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings Friday night.

That, despite being outshot 46-20 by the visitors. But what few chances the Canadiens had, they took.

Five shots into the their offensive attack, they had two goals. And three into their first eleven.

Los Angeles had none into their first 28.

"We had a lot of really good chances," Kings boss Darryl Sutter said. "We totally dominated the first period. I think Carey Price was really, really good, wasn't he?"

Yes, he was.

Carey Price stopped 44 shots in net for the Canadiens (19-10-2) as they take the first two in a four-game homestand, defeating Vancouver three days ago.

"He's a great goaltender and he has the ability to make great saves," P.K. Subban said of Price. "There's only a few goaltenders in the league that can do that and he's definitely one of them."

Jiri Sekac struck first for Montreal on only their third shot against Martin Jones, a power-play chance at 8:16, four seconds after LA's Drew Doughty sat for interfering with Max Pacioretty.

Tomas Plekanec and P.K. Subban exchanged passes after winning a faceoff in the left circle and Subban fired a one-timer from near the blue line, redirected near the crease by Sekac, who stick was the last to touch before crossing the line.

"I felt it hit my stick," Sekac said, whose goal was originally credited to Subban before a review changed it. "The first one was given to [Subban], but it was still a goal no matter what."

"I'm more comfortable with [Plekanec] in each game," he added. Plekanec shared in the assist. "There's a bit of chemistry there."

Sekac gave the Habs their sixth and final goal at 15:46 in the third, unassisted.

As the middle frame opened, LA enjoyed a 14-4 shots advantage before Andrei Markov shot the Habs' 5th, a power-play goal past Jones. 

Montreal would take the 3-0 lead into the second intermission thanks to P.K. Subban's 8th goal on the year, a strike that found his stick after some passing in the the neutral zone that set up the defenseman's slap shot. 

David Desharnais and Manny Malhotra assisted on the latter's first point this year.

The Kings (15-10-5) got on the board in the final session when Jake Muzzin fired a wrister over Carey Price's right shoulder. 

The goal gave Muzzin his fourth point in two games, after notching a career-best three assists in the Kings' win over Ottawa Thursday.

Muzzin's strike came on the Kings' 34th shot against Price to Montreal's 12 on Jones.

Drew Doughty slapped a one-timer to Price's left from the circle to complete the visitors' scoresheet, the defenseman's third this season, at 10:48.

Los Angeles outshot Montreal 18-9 in the third period, though the Canadiens would convert 3 of those 9 to secure the convincing decision.

David Desharnais gave the Habs a 4-1 lead at 9:47. P.A. Parenteau and Brandon Prust shared the assist after some passing from behind the net.

"I got a perfect pass from P.A. and when you get a chance like that, you're expected to bury it," Desharnais said afterwards. 

Second-year man Sven Andrighetto would give Montreal the three-goal lead at 13:59 off a cross-ice pass from Michael Bournival. The Swiss-born right-winger scored his first goal on the year Dec. 6th against Dallas.

The Kings' 46 shots were the most attempted by the team this season. They travel to Toronto to tangle with the Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Kings-Canadiens preview

MONTREAL, Qc. - Three days after burying Jean Beliveau, a 10-time winner of the Stanley Cup and former Canadiens captain, Montreal seeks a second straight victory Friday night when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Bell Centre.

Montreal (18-10-2) returned home Tuesday to down Vancouver 3-1 as the Habs kicked off a five-game homestand. 

Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec lit the lamp in a game preceded by a fifteen-minute tribute to Beliveau and a two-minute standing ovation for his widow, Elise, who sat next to the seat her husband occupied during his years as a team executive.

The chair was left open, with his number 4 emblazed into it. 

Max Pacioretty leads Montreal with 22 points, notching his 9th goal this season with an empty-netter and an assist in Tuesday's win. He gave the winning puck to Mme Beliveau following the game.

"It was a little bit emotional before the game," Pacioretty said. "But I'm glad we got her a victory."

The Canadiens are 10-3-1 at home, to which they return after suffering their longest losing skid of the season, dropping three in a row to Minnesota, Chicago, and Dallas, all on the road.

"We all knew we needed to do more offensively," Gallagher said, whose strike opened scoring in the second period. "We generated a lot of chances. Every line contributed."

They average 3.1 goals at the Centre against 1.8 on the road, and have scored only 9 first period goals, the worst mark in hockey, outscored 8-2 in opening periods.

Los Angeles (15-9-5) visits the Habs for their third game in five away from home. After dropping two straight, they rebounded with a 5-3 decision over Ottawa Thursday night, after finding only 8 goals in their previous five games.

Jake Muzzin recorded three assists in Canada's capitol, setting up two goals in the third period to lift the Kings to a 4-5-1 record on the road. 

His goal came 36 seconds after the Senators produced a 2-2 tie.

"That was big," Muzzin said afterwards. "They [Ottawa] had momentum going their way and we kind of shifted it back into our hands. To come back with a goal right away was huge."

Tyler Toffoli leads the Kings with 21 points (10 G, 11 A), a team that allows the third-fewest goals (2.1) against the Canadiens' 2.4 allowed-average.

The two sides played one another to decide the 1993 Stanley Cup Final. Montreal took the series in five games, the last time the Cup was awarded to a team north of the border.

LA won their previous two meetings with Montreal after losing their last seven.