{coyotes} Canadiens break out in third period to top Coyotes

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

{coyotes} Canadiens break out in third period to top Coyotes

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens picked a great time for their dormant power play to come alive, scoring two with the man advantage in the third period on their way to a 3-1 win against the Phoenix Coyotes at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

With one power-play goal in their past 21 periods heading into the third, Andrei Markov tied the game at 1-1 with his third goal of the season at 2:26 with Phoenix forward David Moss in the box for holding. Max Pacioretty scored his 13th of the season, also on the power play, 13:18 into the third to put the Canadiens ahead for good.

The Canadiens (21-12-3) finished 2-for-4 on the power play.

Pacioretty added an empty-netter at even strength with 2.6 seconds left in the third to ice the win for Montreal.

Mikkel Boedker gave the Coyotes an early lead 6:14 into the first period when Canadiens captain Brian Gionta inadvertently tipped the puck off Boedker's skate and past goalie Carey Price. It was Boedker's 10th goal of the season.

The Coyotes (18-10-5) were able to hold the struggling Montreal offense at bay until Markov's power-play goal. The Canadiens had three shots on goal in the first period, but finished with 28 on the strength of 11 and 14 in the second and third, respectively.

Price, as he's often done throughout the season, kept the Canadiens in the game, especially in the first period when he made 15 of his 26 saves.

The Canadiens' penalty kill kept the game close in the second period, killing off a double minor to Brandon Prust that seemed to change the momentum of the game. The Coyotes were 0-for-4 on the power play.

After making 30 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, Mike Smith was solid in defeat once again, making 25 saves.

The Coyotes had to play with only five defensemen for essentially the entire game after Zbynek Michalek went down with a lower-body injury on his first shift 40 seconds into the game and did not return.

Rookie defenseman Connor Murphy picked up some of Michalek's minutes, finishing with 24:32 of ice time. Murphy assisted on Boedker's first period goal.

Forward Rene Bourque returned to the Montreal lineup for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury on Dec. 2. Bourque played on a line with Travis Moen and Brandon Prust.

The Canadiens were without forward George Parros after he sustained his second concussion of the season Saturday against the New York Islanders. Forward Ryan White and defenseman Francis Bouillon were healthy scratches.

Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who has been out of the lineup since Dec. 4 with an undisclosed illness, is not on the trip, but could join the team at some point. Forward Lauri Korpikoski also remained out of the lineup with an upper-body injury, but is with the team for the trip.

Defenseman Derek Morris, who just rejoined the team this past weekend after attending to a family matter, was a healthy scratch, as were defenseman David Rundblad and forward Gilbert Brule, who was recently called up from the team's American Hockey League affiliate.

The Coyotes will continue their four-game road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday before playing the Ottawa Senators (Saturday) and Buffalo Sabres (Monday) to conclude the trip.

The Canadiens will play on the road against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday and the Nashville Predators on Saturday before their Christmas break.

Good Luck Charlie, It's Christmas!