Sam Montembeault made 30 saves to earn his second shutout of the season.
Montembeault made 30 saves for the win.
Keeping Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet required a full team effort, and the Canadiens delivered arguably their most complete performance of the season so far.
Brendan Gallagher, Kaiden Guhle and Jake Evans scored for the Habs.
It was a scoreless first period, but Arber Xhekaj continued his strong play of late. He levelled Zack Hyman in the neutral zone for one of four hits on the night.
Guhle left for the dressing room momentarily after blocking a shot, but he returned to start the second.
It was nearly a scoreless second period as well. But with 31 seconds to go, Mike Matheson fired a seemingly innocuous shot towards Calvin Pickard and Gallagher deflected it home to put Montreal on the board 1-0 after 40 minutes.
In the third period, Caufield was an absolute beast against the much bigger Draisaitl, and the give-and-go passing play in tight with Evans ended with Guhle beating Pickard short side to give Montreal a 2-0 lead.
The Oilers pulled their goalie with five minutes to play in regulation, and with McDavid and Draisaitl on the ice, why not?
Evans took a chance flipping the puck out from his own end, but his shot went nothing but net to secure a 3-0 win for the home team.
It was a quiet night on the scoresheet for Juraj Slafkovsky, but he responded in a big way after a frustrating game on Saturday, especially in the second and third periods. He played a major role in setting up the Gallagher goal.
Hutson is still waiting for his first career goal, but it’s not due to lack of effort. On the ice against two of the most skilled players in the world, Hutson rose to the occasion with multiple chances.
Matheson is proving that last season’s career high in points was no fluke: he’s getting close to keeping pace with last year’s total of 62.
Also, if Penguins GM Kyle Dubas was in town to scout for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off, Montembeault excelled in his audition.
3. “Wow. Postgame just pointed out that this is the first time both McDavid and Draisaitl have been held off the scoresheet this season.” — Michael Way
2. “12/4 for the Habs in high danger chances. Against a team like Edmonton, that’s just spectacular.” — Marc Taillefer
1. “So much for all the … ‘Marty’s lost the room’ … nonsense we’ve been subjected to lately.” — Carin Latzel