Niemi stops 27 shots as Canadiens top Islanders
Jonathan Drouin scored once and added an assist and goalie Antti Niemi made 27 saves as the Montreal Canadiens scored three unanswered goals to beat the New York Islanders 3-1 in NHL action Wednesday night in Montreal.
Drouin, who has had a middling season in Montreal after being acquired last summer from the Tampa Bay Lightning, broke a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal at the 8:29 mark of the second period at the Bell Centre. Drouin was manning the left point when he received the puck and worked his way down to the face-off dot before slapping a shot past New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak for his 10th goal of the season. Drouin also set up his team's first goal on a night the Canadiens snapped a two-game losing skid.
Nikita Scherbak made it a 3-1 Montreal lead at 13:37 of the middle frame. Scherbak was heading to the net following his team's rush down the ice and made no mistake with his quick shot to finish a bang-bang play with Brendan Gallagher for his second goal of the season.
Niemi had a strong game between the pipes while Montreal's star goalie Carey Price is on the shelf due to a concussion. Niemi was key early, especially while stopping three first-period breakaways, even if New York hit the scoreboard first.
Islanders rookie Mathew Barzal opened the scoring at the 3:50 mark of the first period. The speedster zipped around Noah Juulsen to give himself a breakaway from the top of the circles and lifted a backhand shot past Niemi for his 18th goal of the season. Barzal has collected two goals and five points in a three-game spree.
However, Montreal's Paul Byron got that one back at the 11:02 mark of the opening frame. While the Canadiens were buzzing in the offensive zone, Byron found a soft spot in the slot and ripped a shot past Halak after receiving the feed from Artturi Lehkonen.
Halak stopped 23 shots for the Islanders, who sit third in the race for the Eastern Conference's two wild-card spots but are suddenly floundering having lost four straight and with just two wins in their last eight outings (2-5-1).
--Field Level Media