The Canadiens defeated the Coyotes for the 13th straight time.
Sam Montembeault stopped 36 shots, and Jordan Harris and Joel Armia each scored a goal and an assist as the host Montreal Canadiens defeated the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Tuesday, extending their losing run to 13 games.
Arizona outshot the Canadiens 38-21, but Montembeault performed well when required. He allowed a second-period goal to Alex Kerfoot and a late goal to Nick Bjugstad, but he was not put to the test as Montreal ended a five-game losing streak.
Harris, a defenseman, was a surprising offensive hero despite having only one goal and six points in 34 games. Tanner Pearson and Nick Suzuki (empty net) both scored for the Canadiens.
Arizona, playing without injured star Clayton Keller (upper-body injury), had chances but fell to 0-11-2 since a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 22. This is the fourth-longest winless streak in team history.
Arizona was the offensive aggressor early, outshooting the Canadiens 11-5 in the opening period, but had little to show for it as Montreal opened the scoring 7:52 into the game. The Canadiens’ straightforward breakout play evolved into a two-on-one, with Alex Newhook feeding Armia for his tenth goal.
At 4:52 in the second period, the Canadiens were up 2-0. Following a blocked shot, Montreal found themselves in a two-on-one situation, with Harris keeping the ball and beating Arizona’s Connor Ingram (20 saves).
Only 2:50 later, the Coyotes got on the board. Kerfoot grabbed the ball behind the Canadiens’ net and slipped it across the line amid some activity in front of and around the goal. Kerfoot played in his 500th NHL game.
Montreal increased its lead 5:14 into the third period, thanks to some sloppy Arizona defense. This time, Harris received the puck at his own blue line and made a simple stretch pass to Pearson, who snuck behind the Coyotes’ defense and chipped it past Ingram.
Bjugstad made it interesting with a knuckler that caught Montembeault off guard with 5:37 left in regulation.
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