Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault looks back after being scored on by Carolina Hurricanes' Jordan Staal during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal, March 30, 2024.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
The Carolina Hurricanes’ special teams highlighted a 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at the Centre Bell.
Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis scored for Carolina (47-21-7), which halted Montreal’s (28-33-12) three-game win streak.
While Carolina opened the game with plenty of offensive pressure, it was Montreal which had the first chance.
As the first minute expired, Mike Matheson appeared to score from a tight angle, but in reality hit both the crossbar and the right post, with the puck never crossing the line. Carolina would respond in kind, increasing their intensity of play for most of the remainder of the period and hitting the post themselves on two separate occasions.
Neither team could score in the first period, as a determined neutral zone press from both sides kept scoring opportunities to a minimum.
While the second frame saw a significant uptick in offence due to penalties for both teams, defence would lead to the opener. After a turnover at the Hurricanes’ blue line, Staal jumped on a loose puck, finishing off the short-handed breakaway with a shot neatly tucked over Sam Montembeault’s shoulder. Montreal has now surrendered the most short-handed goals this season with 12.
While looking for the tying goal, the Canadiens upped the pressure as the second period came to a close, without figuring how to beat Pyotr Kochetkov.
That pressure would come undone just four minutes into the third period, with Carolina on the power play. The Hurricanes doubled their lead after a fortuitous bounce of the puck left Aho with a wide-open net as the Hurricanes leading scorer made no mistake.
UP NEXT
Hurricanes: Host the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Canadiens: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.