Canadiens 4, Lightning 2
Max Pacioretty tallied twice and All-Star Carey Price turned aside 43 shots as the Montreal Canadiens skated to a 4-2 road triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
After playing 99 games without scoring a goal, defenseman Hal Gill joined rookie David Desharnais by tallying for the second straight contest.
Tomas Plekanec notched a pair of assists as Montreal (36-23-7) secured its fourth victory in a row and fifth in six games. With the win, the Canadiens moved to within one point of the fifth-place Washington Capitals (35-20-10) in the competitive Eastern Conference standings.
Gill opened the scoring 5:27 into the first period with a blast past a screened Dwayne Roloson.
Desharnais doubled the advantage just 3:14 later and Pacioretty answered Dominic Moore's second-period power-play tally with one of his own to restore the Canadiens' two-goal cushion. Pacioretty added his second of the night and 14th of the season at 1:18 of the third period.
The offense proved to be enough for Price, who has permitted five goals during his four-game winning streak.
Captain Vincent Lecavalier netted his 16th goal of the season and Roloson finished with 19 saves for Southeast Division-leading Tampa Bay (37-21-7), which has dropped three in a row and six of its last nine. The Lightning remain just one point up on the Capitals in the division.