Canadiens top Sid-less Penguins 2-1 in shootout Thursday, 01.06.2011 / 10:24 PM Arpon Basu - NHL.com Correspondent MONTREAL – Benoit Pouliot scored the tying goal in regulation and the winner in the shootout as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Thursday night.
The Canadiens became the last team in the League to get to the shootout, and Pouliot ended it in style. Chosen as his team’s fifth shooter, he came in for a deke to his forehand before pulling the puck back and sliding it past Brent Johnson with one hand on his stick.
Carey Price then stopped Chris Kunitz to seal the win, one in which he shined with 31 saves to give the Canadiens (22-16-3) their second win in three games (2-0-1).
Arron Asham scored and Johnson made 22 saves for the Penguins (26-12-4), who rested starter Marc-Andre Fleury after he got an 8-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning one night earlier.
Playing without Crosby for the first time this season after he was sent home to be examined for an upper body injury, the burden of offensive leadership fell on the shoulders of Evgeni Malkin.
He didn’t disappoint, generating a number of chances, but he was foiled by Price on every one. Malkin gave the Penguins a scare late in the third period when he went down awkwardly after taking a hit from Scott Gomez. Malkin stayed down for a few moments, tried getting up and went down again, putting no weight on his left leg. He eventually got up and made his way to the bench.
Malkin took another shift in the final minute of regulation and another in overtime but was clearly laboring. Malkin also had the game on his stick as the third shooter in the shootout, and pushed his shot off Price’s pad after the goalie wouldn’t go for his deke.
Malkin missed four games earlier this season with a left knee injury.
It was a strong performance by Price, who’s started to feel some heat in Montreal for a dip in his performance – one that had seen him post a 2-7-1 record with an .870 save percentage in his previous 10 starts.
But he was strong when he needed to be in this one, particularly in the first period after allowing Asham to open the scoring on Pittsburgh’s third shot of the game at 2:14 of the first. Price kept the Canadiens in it as they allowed the Penguins to completely dominate the opening 20 minutes, spending long stretches of it in the Montreal zone.
The Canadiens were also shorthanded, playing their fifth game without defenseman Josh Gorges – who will miss the remainder of the season with a right knee injury – and top shutdown defenseman Roman Hamrlik.
The Canadiens bounced back well from the lethargic first period to take control of the second, getting back in the game when Pouliot scored his eighth of the season at 12:28 with a shot that glanced off Johnson’s shoulder.
With the game tied 1-1 midway through the third period, the Penguins appeared to want to give the Canadiens the lead by taking three overlapping penalties – two of them for delay of game. That gave Montreal 3:46 of power play, with two full minutes at 5-on-3 in the middle of it, but the Canadiens generated only one shot on goal in that span.
The overtime period was no more enthralling, with the Canadiens outshooting the Penguins 1-0 and neither teams generating too many chances. The best one was probably Michael Cammalleri’s, but he missed the far post when he was open in the slot for a shot.
.It was a clean hit