Pacioretty leads Habs past Coyotes
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Despite a TVA Sports report that Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin met separately with players and coach Michel Therrien on Wednesday, Therrien took a calm approach to the Canadiens 3-6-2 slide heading into Thursday's game against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena.
"There's three games before the break and the break will be really welcome for our team," Therrien said of the team's upcoming bye week. "We're going to have a strong finish. That's the way I see it. What is important is not the past. It's about today."
Therrien's words proved prophetic. Max Pacioretty had two goals and two assists, Andrei Markov and Alex Radulov each scored and Alex Galchenyuk buried a wrist shot from the slot in overtime to lift Montreal to a 5-4 win over the Coyotes.
Carey Price made 20 saves for the Canadiens, who snapped a four-game losing streak to maintain an eight-point lead Ottawa for the Atlantic Division lead.
Christian Dvorak had two goals, and Max Domi and Alex Goligoski also scored for Arizona, which got 35 saves from Mike Smith, but lost for the third time in its last four games.
Montreal, which had been shut out in its last two games for the first time since 2011, took just 57 seconds to get on the board against the Coyotes. Alex Radulov lifted Oliver Ekman-Larsson's stick as the Coyotes' defenseman tried to play a puck in the corner. Phillip Danault picked up the loose puck and fed Max Pacioretty in front of the net for Pacioretty's team-leading 26th goal of the season to snap a 138:08 scoreless streak. Pacioretty also had the goal that preceded the streak.
Andrei Markov made it 2-0 at 13:10 of the first period when his slap shot from the point deflected off Goligoski's stick and caromed off the inside of the far post and into the net through a screen.
Arizona sliced the lead to 2-1 on the second of back-to-back power plays at 13:46 of the second period. Ekman-Larsson sent a stretch pass to Domi at the Montreal blue line and Domi fed Dvorak streaking up the left wing. Dvorak's wrist shot beat Price high to the glove side for the rookie's sixth goal of the season.
Domi tied the game at 2-2 when teammate Peter Holland fanned on a shot off a breakaway. Domi whacked away at the puck at the side of the net and eventually pushed it past Price at 15:45 of the second period. The goal was initially disallowed off but a review overturned the call on the ice, giving Domi a goal and an assist in just his third game back from a broken hand that had sidelined him for two months.
Arizona took a 3-2 lead 22 seconds later when Jordan Martinook fed Goligoski from the half-wall and Goligoski tucked the puck inside the near post for Arizona's fourth shorthanded goal of the season. Price appeared to lose sight of the puck through a screen and was entirely out of position on Goligoski's shot.
Pacioretty tied the game at 2:52 of the third period with Lawson Crouse in the penalty box for high-sticking. Markov's shot attempt banked off the skates of Coyotes defenseman Michael Stone and onto Pacioretty's stick in the slot. Pacioretty's 27th goal of the season gave him six goals in his last six games.
Radulov put Montreal back on top, 4-3, on a feed from Pacioretty at 9:56 of the third period, but Dvorak tied the game at 4-4 with 4:52 left in regulation when he got behind the Montreal defense and chipped a puck past price, who had come out of the crease to challenge the shot.
NOTES: Coyotes C Martin Hanzal missed the game with an undisclosed illness. Hanzal has missed nine games this season and has not played more than 65 in a full season since 2009-10. ... C Peter Holland, who has been a healthy scratch the last four games, took Hanzal's place on the top line between LW Tobias Rieder and RW Radim Vrbata. ... Coyotes C Brad Richardson (broken right tibia and fibula) is out indefinitely but has resumed skating and has not ruled out a return this season. ... The Canadiens recalled C Michael McCarron and RW Daniel Carr from St. John's of the American Hockey League and returned LW Jacob De La Rose. ... Canadiens C David Desharnais was a healthy scratch. ... Canadiens RW Brendan Gallagher (hand) is on injured reserve and likely out until early March.