Mason McTavish broke the tie midway through the third period and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Friday.
From the left circle, McTavish converted a pass from Cam Fowler at 11:01 into the third period. The score went to 2-1.
Third overall pick two years ago, McTavish had a fifth point in his last three games.
The goal was scored while the Canadiens’ Chris Tierney was in jail for tripping.
Jakob Silfverberg added an insurance goal at 15:00, again with the advantage. Josh Anderson had held back.
Jayson Megna was the Ducks’ other scorer in the first period.
John Gibson has made 26 saves for the Ducks, winning four times in their last five games.
Jonathan Drouin and captain Nick Suzuki fought back for the Canadiens.
Drouin scored his first goal since January 1, 2022, at Sunrise.
“We were all happy for him,” said Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis. He is very comfortable with the puck, he makes a lot of plays.
Suzuki scored with 30 seconds left in the game, with Samuel Montembeault on the bench in favor of one more striker.
Montembeault stopped 30 shots.
“Samuel made some good saves,” said St-Louis. The game could have gone either way in the third period.
The Bleu-Blanc-Rouge suffered a third defeat in four outings.
“The effort was there, just not the result,” said St-Louis. (By the end of the season), we’re not just going to count the days, we’re going to work. I expect us to fight every game.”
The Habs took the lead just 1:16 after the opening face-off.
Josh Anderson made a cross pass to Mike Matheson, whose wrist shot slipped through Gibson’s pads. Drouin had placed himself in the right place to push the puck into the net.
He had 18 assists so far this season, in 38 matches.
“For any player in that situation, you want to find a way to score,” Drouin said. You try not to think about it, but it’s not easy. It’s about staying true to your game. I’m happy to have been rewarded.
The Ducks leveled at 4:20 in the first period. Maxime Comtois first put back in the slot. Johnathan Kovacevic only barely stopped the drive, then Megna took the opportunity to score his second goal of the campaign.
The CH only shot once during a penalty at Comtois, in the middle of the first third. In fact, the best chance of the streak went to Silfverberg, prowling at the left mouth.
In the last minute of the first third, Montembeault was valiant at the expense of Derek Grant.
CH’s Kaiden Guhle retired to the locker room shortly before the end of the first period, appearing to have a sore right shoulder. He was, however, back at the post to start the middle period.
In the eighth minute of the second period, Rem Pitlick of the Canadian and Trevor Zegras of the Ducks saw the opposing goalkeeper distinguish themselves at their expense, following dangerous shots.
Late in the engagement, the Montreal club served a tripping penalty on Drouin. Frank Vatrano still fired two solid one-timers from the left circle.
Soon after, Sam Carrick was sent to jail after playing with a broken stick. The Canadian did not generate a real opportunity.
After 40 minutes of play, Anaheim had a 24-20 advantage on shots.
Troy Terry missed a great chance just in front of the net in the fourth minute of the third period.
Soon after, Zegras was punished for darting Matheson. The latter touched the post during the advantage, as did Mike Hoffman.
Then a burst of speed from newcomer Denis Gurianov provided a good shot for Suzuki, courtesy of a back pass.
The Tricol will complete a four-game trip Sunday night to Las Vegas.
The Ducks will play their next three games in Seattle, Vancouver and Calgary.
Anaheim chose three QMJHL players in the last draft, turning to Nathan Gaucher (Remparts), Noah Warren (Olympiques) and Tristan Luneau (Olympiques).