MONTREAL — Defenceman Jeff Petry scored 25 seconds into overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.
Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher scored in regulation for the Canadiens (26-23-7), who have won six of their last eight games. Carey Price made 35 saves and improved to 4-7-1 all-time against Anaheim.
Jakob Silfverberg and Derek Grant scored for the Ducks (22-26-6), who saw their two-game win streak come to an end. John Gibson stopped 24-of-27 shots in defeat.
In overtime, Petry carried the puck all the way from his own zone and beat Gibson with a wrist shot, blocker side for his eighth of the year.
Montreal improved to 12-14-4 on their home ice.
Canadiens captain Shea Weber, out with a lower-body injury, missed his first game of the season. Christian Folin took his spot in the lineup.
Shots were 13-5 for Anaheim in the first when Nick Ritchie took an interference penalty. The Canadiens took advantage of the extra skater when Suzuki, using Gallagher as a screen, beat Gibson at 17:18 for his 11th of the year.
Suzuki ranks sixth among rookies for most goals scored this season.
The Canadiens were caught puck watching on Anaheim’s equalizer at 9:53 of the second. Surrounded by four Montreal players in the slot, Silfverberg got his stick on Rickard Rakell’s pass from behind the net and roofed a shot on Price.
Gallagher made it 2-1 for the home team with a five-hole goal from the slot at 13:16 on a pass from Ilya Kovalchuk that eluded three Ducks players. Gallagher has three goals in five games since returning from a head injury.
Montreal failed to clear its own zone and Grant netted the equalizer 2:16 into the third, a bouncing shot that snuck underneath Price’s right pad.
With the Canadiens on a power play, Gibson kept his team in the game with an incredible glove save on Joel Armia on the doorstep midway through the third. That stop came seconds after Tomas Tatar rifled a shot off the post.
Price did the same late in the third when he stacked the pads and robbed Silfverberg of a sure goal with two minutes on the clock to force overtime.
The Canadiens have been fighting a bad flu bug this week, with several players under the weather. Price and Victor Mete were back in the lineup after missing Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout win in New Jersey. Rookie Ryan Poehling did not dress.
Notes
Canadiens forward Jake Evans made his NHL debut. The 23-year-old had two shots on net, including a breakaway chance in the first. … Rakell extended his point streak to four games. … Anaheim’s Nicolas Deslauriers faced his former team for the first time.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.
Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press
