MONTREAL – The Canadiens posted a 4-0 win over the Oilers on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
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After over a week of inactivity because of the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols, the Habs were back in action at the Bell Centre.
Forward Michael Frolik made his season debut and his Canadiens debut as well. It was his first NHL game since March 7, 2020 when he was still a member of the Buffalo Sabres.
Dominique Ducharme’s squad came roaring out of the gates in the first period.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the frame, capping an exchage with Paul Byron with his fifth goal of the year.
Winger Artturi Lehkonen collected the secondary helper on the play. It was his first point since February 1.
Montreal went up 2-0 just 3:05 later when Lehkonen jumped on a rebound from a shot by defenseman Joel Edmundson and beat Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen.
That snapped the 25-year-old Finn’s 13-game goal drought.
Byron collected his second assist of the night to record his first multi-point game of the season.
Brendan Gallagher put the Canadiens ahead by three goals with 4:01 remaining in the stanza, jamming a rebound from a Shea Weber point shot into an empty cage.
It was Gallagher’s 13th goal of the season and his 20th point of the campaign as well.
Phillip Danault was credited with the other helper on the tally.
That’s the way things stood after 20 minutes. Montreal also led 16-7 in the shots department.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid thought he cut into the Canadiens’ advantage late in the second period, but the goal was ultimately waved off because the play was offside.
Tomas Tatar added another marker for Montreal with 2:06 left in the frame to make it 4-0.
The 30-year-old Slovak beat Koskinen with a one-timer from the top of the circle.
With his seventh goal of the season, Tatar extended his point streak to four games.
Gallagher and Danault each collected their second points of the contest on the sequence.
That’s the way things stood after 40 minutes. The Canadiens led 26-11 in the shots department.
No goals were scored in the third period.
Goaltender Carey Price made 16 stops to register his first shutout of the season. It was also the 49th shutout of his career.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre.