Oilers 3, Canadiens 1
Nikolai Khabibulin turned aside 28 shots and narrowly missed his first career shutout against Montreal as the Edmonton Oilers silenced the host Canadiens 3-1 Tuesday night.
Khabibulin was sensational throughout as Edmonton won for the seventh time in eight games while handing the Canadiens their second straight defeat.
Ryan Jones put Edmonton on the board with a shorthanded marker at 4:38 of the second period. He intercepted a pass at the center red line before breaking in alone and slipping a backhander between Carey Price's pads.
Khabibulin took over from there, withstanding several good Montreal scoring chances over the first two periods. He was rewarded with 3:32 remaining in the third period as Tom Gilbert beat Price with a floater from the blue line that deflected off the Canadiens' Yannick Weber.
Max Pacioretty ended Khabibulin's bid for a 46th career shutout just 22 seconds later, lofting a backhand shot that fooled the goalie from in close. Edmonton's Ryan Smyth then promptly put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal in the final minute.