Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and two assists as the Montreal Canadiens held on for a 4-2 road win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
The Canadiens are 6-1-1 in their last eight games, moving Montreal two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card slot.
Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault stopped 29 of 31 shots to improve to 5-0-1 in his past six starts.
Slafkovsky hit the three-point plateau for the fourth time in his career, matching a personal best.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield each had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, and Mike Matheson scored an empty-net goal.
A win Tuesday would have elevated the Canucks into the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, but Vancouver instead lost for the fourth time in six games.
Filip Hronek had a goal and an assist and Elias Pettersson scored Vancouver’s other goal. Kevin Lankinen turned aside 23 of 26 shots.
Since Jan. 3, the Canucks are last in the NHL in total goals (58) and goals-per-game average (2.15).
Just 66 seconds into the game, Suzuki pulled ahead of Vancouver defenseman Marcus Pettersson for a partial breakaway. Suzuki then made a canny backhanded move to slide the puck past Lankinen, giving Montreal an early lead.
Slafkovsky earned an assist on Suzuki’s goal, then found the net himself with a well-placed wrist shot 8:34 into the first period.
Montreal took advantage of a Canucks line change to quickly create a two-on-one chance in Vancouver’s end at 8:59 of the second period. Suzuki passed to Caufield, who finished for his team-leading 32nd goal.
Down 3-0 through 44 minutes, the Canucks launched a late comeback attempt. Hronek deflected a shot off the post into Montreal’s net at 4:05 of the third period, and Elias Pettersson added a power-play goal just over seven minutes later.
Matheson ended the late drama with his empty-netter 17 seconds before the final whistle.
–Field Level Media
