Tomas Tatar sent off the shootout winner on Saturday and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-4.
His skillful stick handling in the tough Canucks netminder Braden Holtby made him bite, so that the experienced left winger scored the game winner in the sixth round of the shootout.
Tatar also had a goal and support for Canadians (14-8-9) in regulation, a back and forth affair that saw four leadership changes.
Nick Suzuki, Joel Edmundson and Brendan Gallagher also found the end point for Montreal, while Shea Weber and Phillip Danault each scored two assists.
Canucks captain Bo Horvat had a two-point night with a goal and a helper. Jake Virtanen, Brock Boeser and Tyler Motte also scored one goal for Vancouver (16-16-3), and Quinn Hughes added two assists.
It was a busy night for Holtby, who registered 36 parades in regulation. Carey Price stopped 14 of 18 shots for the Canadiens.
Saturday was the ninth and last meeting of the two teams this season. Montreal won the series with a 6-0-3 record. The Canucks took a 3-2 win in extra time against the Canadiens on Friday. Saturday’s result brought Vancouver’s winning streak in four games.
Over time, both Holtby and Price made major stops to force the shootout.
The Canucks started 3-2 on Saturday in the third half, but quickly changed their fortunes.
Twenty-two seconds into the start of the frame, Horvat won an offensive faceoff and the puck slid along the blue line towards Hughes. The defender set off an explosion and Horvat, stationed in the front of the Habs network, tipped him in to compensate.
Motte gave the Canucks the lead 33 seconds later, collecting a pass from Jayce Hawryluk and firing a shot into Price’s past.
However, the Canadians refused to go quietly. Danault won a faceoff mid-way through the period and Gallagher picked up the puck. He wasted no time snapping a shot past Holtby on the wrist to make it 4-4.
READ MORE: Miller scores in OT to help Canucks beat Habs 3-2
READ MORE: Full Canucks coverage here
It was Edmundson who gave the Canadiens a head start into the second break. His wrist shot from near the blue line sailed in and out of the Vancouver net before Montreal had a chance to celebrate the 3-2 lead. Tatar waited by the side of the net to launch the ricochet, just in case.
Tatar had tied the result 2-2 at the start of the reporting period when traffic drove over Holtby’s glove.
Montreal got into the second round 1-0.
Vancouver got just 22 seconds into the frame when Miller cut a pass from below the goal line to Virtanen and the right-winger shot him past Price from above.
Boeser put the Canucks in the lead with an 8:08 power play goal. His one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle hit the side of Price’s glove after Canadian defender Brett Kulak was called to hold.
It was a power play goal that opened the gate for Montreal on Saturday. Vancouver defender Tyler Myers was told to hold in the middle of the first period and the Canadians capitalized. Suzuki used a Corey Perry screen to send a laser past Holtby for his seventh goal of the season.
Each side was perfect with the man advantage on Saturday and went 1-1 in the power game.
The Canadiens will continue their homestand on Monday and start a three-game series with the Edmonton Oilers. The Canucks will host the Winnipeg Jets that same evening.
REMARKS: Horvat earned his 300th NHL point and assisted Boeser’s goal. … Canadian center Tyler Toffoli missed Saturday’s game with a lower body injury. Toffoli was key to Montreal’s offensive this season, scoring 27 points (18 goals, nine assists) in 30 games. … Vancouver has put strikers Elias Pettersson and Tanner Pearson in reserve for long-term injuries.
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