Sean Monahan netted two goals, and Josh Anderson ended a 27-game goal drought with an empty-netter, securing the Montreal Canadiens’ 4-2 win against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.
With Montreal leading 3-2 and Seattle pushing hard, Anderson sealed the game by floating the puck from his zone into the Kraken’s empty net with 32 seconds remaining.
In recent weeks, Anderson focused on returning to basics to overcome his goal drought.
“I just said, ‘You’ve got to get back to the way you’re playing; you’re in this league for a reason,’” Anderson explained. “Just go out there and do your thing. Don’t focus on scoring; just try to get back to your game, and things will take care of themselves.”
Tanner Pearson also scored for Montreal (11-11-3), celebrating its first home win since November 11.
Samuel Montembeault made 31 saves in his first start after signing a three-year, $9.45 million contract extension with the Canadiens. He was sharp from the start, making key left-pad saves against Kraken forward Alex Wennberg twice.
“There were a lot of distractions the last couple of days, a lot of messages, so I wanted to put that behind me quickly,” Montembeault said. “My legs felt good tonight.”
With a goal and an assist, Vince Dunn and Jared McCann scored for Seattle (8-12-6), which suffered its fifth consecutive loss. Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves.
Monahan scored at 4:03 of the first period after Jake Evans forced a turnover. Pearson doubled Montreal’s lead 3:12 into the second period by capitalizing on a rebound.
Monahan scored his second goal on the power play, making it 3-0 at 6:58 of the second period. He had gone 14 games without a goal but was particularly happy for Anderson.
“The guys are happy for Andy; he’s been through some tough times starting here,” Monahan said. “You get a win on home ice, he gets his first, and yeah, it feels good.”
Seattle responded with McCann firing a wrist shot past Montembeault at 14:05 of the second, marking his team-leading 12th goal.
Dunn brought the Kraken within one with a power-play slap shot over Montembeault’s right shoulder 4:49 into the third. Despite their efforts, Seattle returned home from a four-game road trip without a point.
“It’s really unacceptable to come out with nothing,” Dunn said. “We see how well we can play, so maybe we can look at that and understand how close we are, but being close doesn’t cut it; it doesn’t win you games. It needs to be complete, and it’s definitely not even close to that right now.”
Veteran forward Brendan Gallagher played in his 700th NHL game, all with the Canadiens. Drafted by Montreal in the fifth round, 147th overall, in the 2010 draft, Gallagher has 207 goals and 198 assists, becoming the 27th player in franchise history to reach the 700-game milestone.
Upcoming Games
- Kraken: Begin a six-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.
- Canadiens: Conclude a four-game homestand against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
