Top overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first career goal and captain Nick Suzuki converted a penalty shot to fuel the host Montreal Canadiens to a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher each scored in the first period and Sean Monahan added an empty-net tally in the third to help the Canadiens improve to 3-0-0 at home this season.
Jake Allen made 25 saves in his return to the crease after missing Montreal’s 3-2 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday to be with his wife for the birth of their third child.
Arizona’s Travis Boyd scored and set up a goal, J.J. Moser also tallied and Lawson Crouse added two assists in the third period. Connor Ingram turned aside 24 shots in his Coyotes debut.
The Canadiens bolted out of the blocks and claimed a 3-0 lead before Arizona registered its first shot on goal.
Montreal took advantage of a turnover when Anderson tapped home a loose puck in the crease to open the scoring at 1:58 of the first period. The goal was Anderson’s second of the season.
The Canadiens doubled the advantage just 2:15 later after the puck caromed off Crouse’s skate and right to Caufield. The 21-year-old forward snapped a shot that trickled past Ingram for his team-leading fourth goal of the season and 26th in 42 games since Martin St. Louis took over as Montreal’s head coach on Feb. 10.
Gallagher gave Montreal a 3-0 lead just over three minutes later when his wrist shot from the left circle beat Ingram. The goal was Gallagher’s first of the season.
Slafkovsky recorded his milestone goal at 8:17 of the second period. The 18-year-old forced a turnover in the offensive end and wired a shot from the left circle that beat Ingram inside the far post.
Suzuki was taken down by Clayton Keller on a partial breakaway with 1:33 remaining in the second period to result in a penalty shot. Suzuki made the Coyotes pay after deftly flipping the puck into the top corner of the net to give Montreal a 5-0 lead.
–Field Level Media
