Ducks 4, Canadiens 1
Corey Perry extended his goal-scoring streak to four games as the Anaheim Ducks earned a much-needed 4-1 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
The win, which ended a seven-game losing skid, wasn't enough to spare Randy Carlyle's job. The Ducks coach was fired about an hour after the game, replaced by former Washington Capitals bench boss Bruce Boudreau.
Perry finished with a goal and an assist while Ryan Getzlaf ended a 15-game goalless drought as the Ducks prevailed for just the third time in the past 19 games. It was Anaheim's fifth win in its last six meetings against the Canadiens.
With the game tied 1-1, rookie Devante Smith-Pelly put Anaheim ahead on a power play at 6:06 of the middle period, gloving a Bobby Ryan pass before jamming the puck past Montreal netminder Peter Budaj from in close.
Perry extended the advantage on a power play 2:55 into the third period, redirecting a Francois Beauchemin high past Budaj. Niklas Hagman added an empty-netter with 1:28 remaining.
Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn opened the scoring 3:10 into the game. Tomas Plekanec made a deft spin pass right onto the stick of Kostitsyn, who wired a wrist shot that beat Anaheim netminder Jonas Hiller on the glove side.
Getzlaf drew the Ducks even in the final minute of the period, wristing a pass from Corey Perry past Budaj's blocker.
Montreal forward Louis Leblanc made his NHL debut. He became the 800th player to play for the Canadiens.