(Montreal) Goalkeeper Jake Allen delivered a masterful performance in front of his net and the Montreal Canadiens scored their first victory since the start of the 21e century against the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday night by 4-0.
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It was the Canadiens’ first win (2-6-0) in San Jose since November 23, 1999 – a 12-game shortage. The Canadian gave the change of the coin to the Sharks (4-3-0), who had humiliated the Montrealers 5-0 at the Bell Center earlier this month.
Mike Hoffman, Alexander Romanov, Brendan Gallagher, in power play, and Josh Anderson, in an empty net, blackened the scoresheet for the Habs.
Allen stole the show on the CH side, however, with 44 saves, several of which were spectacular.
The 31-year-old goalie notably frustrated the Sharks during their four power-play superiorities, en route to his first shutout with the Canadiens, and his first regular season in the NHL since that of March 8, 2020 – while wearing the St. Louis Blues uniform.
PHOTO TONY AVELAR, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mike Hoffman scored the Canadiens’ first goal
Across the ice, Sharks goaltender Adin Hill repelled 28 shots in the loss.
The Canadian made sure not to start the game as pitifully as the one against the Seattle Kraken two days earlier.
Hoffman opened the scoring at 12:09 of the first period, having jumped on the return throw from defenseman Brett Kulak. It was his third goal in as many games, and it was only the second time this season that the Habs have scored the first goal in a game.
Romanov then doubled the lead of his family by taking advantage of the heavy traffic in front of Hill to unleash a slapshot from the left fulcrum that slipped into the back of the Sharks’ cage (4-2-0), at 8 : 53 of the second twenty.
Gallagher widened the lead to 3-0 on the power play, with 7:06 remaining on the start. The No. 11 CH, forgotten alone in the slot in front of the Sharks net, accepted a quick pass from Josh Anderson before pushing the rubber behind Hill. It was his first net of the campaign.
Allen then made sure to shut the door on the Sharks, and Anderson completed the scoring in an empty net with 2:08 remaining on the clock.
Forward Jake Evans missed a second straight game. He was again replaced by Cédric Paquette, who pivoted a trio completed by Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia.
After the game in San Jose, the Bleu-blanc-rouge will head to southern California for their Saturday afternoon duel against Phillip Danault and the Los Angeles Kings.