Habs blank Canucks for 8th straight win
MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens made history with a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.
Nathan Beaulieu, Torrey Mitchell and Alexander Radulov scored to extend the Canadiens' (9-0-1) winning streak to eight games, giving them the most points (19) through 10 games in franchise history.
Goaltender Carey Price made 42 saves for the Canadiens (9-0-1), earning his 37th career shutout. Ryan Miller stopped 19 shots for the struggling Canucks, who dropped their sixth straight.
Price was the busier of the two goaltenders in the first period, and by a wide margin. The Canucks (4-5-1), averaging 25 shots on goal per game this season, tossed more than half of that on the Montreal netminder, outshooting the home side 13-3 after 20 minutes.
It set a new 2016-17 Canadiens season low for shots on goal in a period.
Vancouver had a couple of chances in the first, including a Jannik Hansen breakaway that was stopped by Price and a near breakaway by Daniel Sedin that was negated on a strong backcheck by Radulov.
It was more of the same in the second, as the Canucks kept Price busy, with Montreal not registering its first shot until six and a half minutes in. The Canadiens got a few more over the next couple of minutes on Miller before the shots went the other way.
Their next shot turned out to be a big one. Miller stopped a Brendan Gallagher shot from the right circle. The rebound went straight into the slot to a hard-charging Beaulieu, who had joined the rush, and the Canadiens defenseman easily poked it into an open net at 12:22.
Mitchell's fifth of the season doubled Montreal's lead at 19:11. Phillip Danault drove up the left side and outskated Daniel Sedin before sending a cross-ice feed to an uncovered Mitchell at the bottom of the right circle.
Radulov was awarded a goal when Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler slashed the winger as he aimed toward the empty net at 18:05 of the third period.
NOTES: As the 2016-17 season hit the three-week mark, the Canucks began their fourth back-to-back series. ... After returning 2016 first-round pick Mikhail Sergachev to the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires earlier in the week, Montreal was left with no healthy extras on their active roster. ... Vancouver LW Alexandre Burrows and RW Derek Dorsett returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games with injury. D Chris Tanev returned after missing three games with injury. ... The Canucks scratched RW Jack Skille, D Alex Biega and D Nikita Tryamkin. ... Montreal C Tomas Plekanec suited up for his 853rd career NHL game, tying him with Jacques Lemaire on the Canadiens' career games played list.