Montreal 4, Colorado 2
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees:
Ghislain Hebert, Brad Meier
Linesmen:
David Brisebois, Brian Murphy
Attendance:
21302
By Field Level Media
For the Colorado Avalanche, this one didn't go to 11.
A goal and two assists from Jonathan Drouin helped the Montreal Canadiens win 4-2 and snap Colorado's winning streak at 10 games on Tuesday at the Bell Centre.
It was the first loss since Dec. 27 for Colorado (27-17-3), which was one of the NHL's worst teams last season but had emerged as one of the hottest in 2018. The Canadiens (20-22-6), who have struggled versus Western Conference teams all season, got 20 saves from Carey Price in the win.
Jonathan Bernier turned in a 36-save performance for the Avalanche, who got a third period goals from MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and from J.T. Compher in the final seconds to deny Price the shutout. It was the team-leading 24th goal of the season for MacKinnon.
After a scoreless first period, Alex Galchenyuk's pass helped set up Nicholas Deslauriers to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. Barely two minutes later, a Paul Byron pass set up Galchenyuk's 12th goal of the season, which established a two-goal Canadiens lead after 40 minutes.
Drouin, who assisted on both of the second period goals, scored the eventual game-winner a little more than 12 minutes into the third for a 3-0 Montreal lead. MacKinnon's goal off a pass from defenseman Erik Johnson made it 3-1, but Brendan Gallagher's unassisted goal with under two minutes to play made it 4-1 for the home team.
Compher capped the scoring with 12 seconds left on the clock. Colorado had not lost since dropping a 3-1 home decision to the Arizona Coyotes in their first game after the league-mandated break over the holidays.
For the Canadiens, it was just their seventh win versus a Western Conference team in 22 meetings. The Avalanche visit St. Louis on Thursday, while the Canadiens host Carolina on Thursday.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Colorado |
|
Montreal |
|
J.T. Compher 1 |
Points |
Jonathan Drouin 3 |
|
J.T. Compher 1 |
Goals |
Jonathan Drouin 1 |
|
Erik Johnson 1 |
Assists |
Jonathan Drouin 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Alex Galchenyuk 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Jonathan Bernier .923 |
Save Percentage |
Carey Price .909 |
|
Jonathan Bernier 36 |
Saves |
Carey Price 20 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Colorado
|
22 |
2 |
0-4 |
3-4 |
8 |
20 |
| Montreal
|
40 |
4 |
1-4 |
4-4 |
8 |
32 |
Upcoming Games
-
Montreal will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .357 after a loss.
-
Colorado will play their next game on the road against St. Louis. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .579 after a loss.
For more information, contact us