(Montreal) Samuel Montembeault kept the Canadiens in the game for a long time, but the team for whom the victory was the most important finally prevailed.
Posted at 9:45 p.m.
Updated at 10:15 p.m.
Evgeny Svechnikov broke the tie late in the third period and the Winnipeg Jets defeated Montreal 4-2 on Monday night at the Bell Centre.
The Jets are trying to get back into the playoff race in the Western Conference, while the Canadiens have known their fate for a long time.
The Habs had some good moments on offense, but their defensive flaws allowed the visitors to do what was necessary to leave with two more points in the bank.
Joel Armia and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (20-42-11), which has lost three of its last four games. Montembeault made 31 saves.
Morgan Barron had a goal and an assist, while Paul Stastny and Adam Lowry also moved the ropes for the Jets (35-28-11). Dylan Samberg had two assists and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 shots.
Interim head coach Martin St-Louis made three changes to his roster. Forwards Ryan Poehling, Paul Byron and Corey Schueneman replaced Michael Pezzetta, Tyler Pitlick and Chris Wideman.
The Canadian will be back in action on Wednesday when he visits the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Commendable effort, familiar result
It took more than 13 minutes of play before the teams got any real scoring chances. Hellebuyck was the first to stand out by catching a backhand shot from Cole Caufield. Montembeault then closed the door on Lowry seconds later.
The Canadian entered the score after 29 seconds of play in the second period. Armia benefited from a comeback after a fine climb from Christian Dvorak.
Montembeault made a brilliant mitt save against Svechnikov moments later, but the Jets beat him at 1:46. Barron moved the ropes with a shot to the top of the mitt side.
Barron then set the table for Stastny, who beat Montembeault on an almost identical play at 4:00.
The rest of the period was the business of Montembeault, who multiplied the spectacular saves. The Habs goalie frustrated Stastny with his shield on a return, then had two more thefts off Svechnikov and Ehlers later. The crowd highlighted Montembeault’s work by chanting his name.
Montembeault was also rewarded by his teammates, who tied the game 2-2 after 6:19 in the third period. A long shot from Jeff Petry grazed Anderson’s leg before ending up in the goal.
The Jets, however, took the lead for good with 8:59 to go in the third period. Svechnikov finally beat Montembeault with a low shot after a three-on-two attack.
Lowry completed the scoring in an empty net with 1:29 left on the clock.