Canadiens slip past Stars in overtime
Alex Galchenyuk got his second goal of the game 1:59 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night to end a four-game skid.
Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault also scored for Montreal. Ben Scrivens made 30 saves.
Cody Eakin, Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky had goals for the first-place Stars. Kari Lehtonen stopped 24 shots.
The 13th-place Canadiens are 6-0-1 in their last seven home games.
Galchenyuk one-timed in a pass from Andrei Markov from the faceoff circle.
Scrivens was shaky early on, making easy saves look challenging.
The Stars needed just 2:58 to score, with Eakin redirecting a pass from Jason Demers between Scrivens’ pads.
Montreal got the equalizer at 14:20 when Markov’s point shot went off Pacioretty’s right skate and in. It was the Canadiens captain’s team-leading 24th goal of the season.
With Pacioretty in the box for holding to start the second, Spezza beat Scrivens top shelf 17 seconds into the period with a big blast from just outside the faceoff circle. Spezza has a goal in each of his last four games.
The home side responded 36 seconds later, with Galchenyuk scoring his eighth goal in his last seven games. Sven Andrighetto made a nifty, one-handed pass from his stomach behind the net to set up Galchenyuk in the slot.
Galchenyuk leads the league with nine goals since Feb. 24.
Danault gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 3:37, cashing in a big rebound off the end boards for his first in a Canadiens uniform.
The Habs scored three goals on their first 11 shots of the game.
Hemsky made it 3-3 in the second period’s final minute, beating Scrivens easily with a wrap-around.
The Canadiens announced Brendan Gallagher, who sustained a lower-body injury in Montreal’s last outing, will miss 2-to-3 weeks of play.
Notes: Lars Eller did not play due to a lower-body injury. Rookie Lucas Lessio took his spot in the lineup. … Patrick Sharp and Jordie Benn (lower-body injuries) were sidelined for the Stars. … Prior to puck drop, goalie Mike Condon was awarded the Molson Cup for January and February.
Dallas | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 |
Montreal | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | 4 |
First Period—1, Dal, Eakin 12 (Demers, Hemsky), 2:58. 2, Mon, Pacioretty 24 (Markov, Galchenyuk), 14:20. Penalties—Andrighetto, Mon (holding), 16:12; Pacioretty, Mon (holding stick), 20:00.
Second Period—3, Dal, Spezza 25 (Russell, Ja.Benn), :17 (pp). 4, Mon, Galchenyuk 22 (Andrighetto, Pacioretty), :53. 5, Mon, Danault 2 (Pateryn, Lessio), 3:37. 6, Dal, Hemsky 10 (Eakin), 19:00. Penalties—Spezza, Dal (tripping), 12:35.
Third Period—None. Penalties—Oduya, Dal (hooking), 7:49; Galchenyuk, Mon (tripping), 8:19.
Overtime—7, Mon, Galchenyuk 23 (Markov, Andrighetto), 1:59. Penalties—None.
Shots on Goal—Dal 16-9-8-0—33. Mon 9-7-10-2—28. Power plays—Dal 1 of 3; Mon 0 of 2. Goalies—Dal, Lehtonen 18-8-2 (28 shots-24 saves). Mon, Scrivens 4-6-0 (33-30). A—21,288 (21,287). T—2:38.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Canadiens slip past Stars in overtime."