Sam Montembeault backstops Canadiens to 3-0 win over Oilers

By The Associated Press

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault, right, stops a shot as Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Skinner, left, and Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) look for the rebound during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Christinne Muschi]

MONTREAL (AP) — Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots as the Montreal Canadiens blanked Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Monday night.

Brendan Gallagher, Kaiden Guhle and Jake Evans — into an empty net — scored for Montreal, which matched its longest winning streak of the season with a second consecutive victory.

Montembeault earned his second shutout of the campaign after a 48-save showing against Toronto in the season-opener.

Calvin Pickard made 22 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers lost their second in a row after falling 4-3 in overtime to Toronto on Saturday.

Gallagher deflected a hard pass from Mike Matheson into the top right corner to open the scoring with 31 seconds left in the second period.

Takeaways

Canadiens: Montreal outshot the Oilers 11-9 in the third period. They also denied the Oilers on three power-play opportunities. Despite its stacked offense, Edmonton ranks in the bottom third of the league with the man-advantage this season.

Oilers: Edmonton was without defenseman Darnell Nurse. Coach Kris Knoblauch announced earlier Monday that Nurse will be out five to 10 days. Nurse was injured by a hit to the head from Toronto forward Ryan Reaves on Saturday.

Key moment

Montembeault stood tall on a partial break from Jeff Skinner midway through the third, denying the backhand with a pad save to earn “Monty! Monty!” chants.

Key stat

Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played in his 900th NHL game, all with the Oilers. Drafted first overall by the franchise in 2011, Nugent-Hopkins has 252 goals and 455 assists in that span.

Up next

The Oilers wrap up a three-game road trip at Ottawa on Tuesday. The Canadiens host Vegas on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL