Byron's OT goal lifts Habs over Canucks
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Paul Byron scored 1:13 into overtime as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 to win their sixth consecutive game.
The winning goal started with Alex Galchenyuk taking a shot from near the faceoff circle that Byron deflected. It went through defenseman Ben Hutton's legs and dribbled past the glove of Canuck goaltender Ryan Miller.
Torrey Mitchell also scored for the Canadiens (38-21-8). It was his first goal in 39 games.
Michael Chaput tied the game for the Canucks with 7:11 left in the third period.
The Canadiens have now won seven of their last eight games. Montreal holds a six-point lead over Ottawa for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Vancouver (28-30-8) saw a two-game win streak snapped. The Canucks are (3-5-2) in their last 10 games and trail St. Louis by seven points in the race for the final wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Miller stopped 36 shots. Montreal goalie Carey Price made 27 saves.
The Canucks forced the overtime when Alex Edler fired a shot from the blue line that Chaput redirected over Price's blocker. It was Chaput's fourth goal of the season and first in eight games.
Mitchell scored the only goal of the first period on Montreal's second shot on net, tipping an Andrei Markov shot past Miller at 3:57.
The Canadiens outshot Vancouver 16-4 in the second period but Miller kept the Canucks in the game.
NOTES: Canadiens C Brian Flynn left the game after two shifts in the first because of an upper-body injury. ... RW Nikolay Goldobin, obtained by the Canucks in a trade from San Jose, started on the second line with C Bo Horvat and LW Sven Baertschi. ... LW Louis Eriksson will miss up to two weeks with a knee injury. ... Canucks D Nikita Tryamkin is back skating but missed his sixth game due to the mumps. D Philip Larsen was a healthy scratch. ... Montreal C Tomas Plekanec, out with an upper-body injury, had his streak of 236 consecutive games end. ... Montreal LW Alexander Radulov missed his second game with a lower-body injury. ... D Brandon Davidson made his Canadiens debut after being acquired in a trade from Edmonton. ... D Nikita Nesterov, RW Michael McCarron and D Alexei Emelin were healthy scratches for the Habs.