Looking for a second victory in a row, the Montreal Canadiens led 2-1 after 40 minutes of play against the Pittsburgh Penguins thanks to goals from Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
At his 1000e game in the National Hockey League, Lars Eller scored his ninth goal of the season and his 172e in career.
A Valtteri Puustinen shot was blocked by Mike Matheson, and the puck ended up on Eller’s stick. The latter allowed the Penguins to tie the game at 4:05 of the second period.
Eller has played for five teams since his debut in the circuit, including the Habs. He has played 435 games in the blue-white-red uniform and has 387 career points. The Penguins also paid tribute to him during a short ceremony before the initial puck drop.
However, CH took the lead again on the power play a few moments later. Slafkovsky was trying to reach a teammate at the mouth of the net, but defenseman Ryan Graves accidentally deflected the puck into his own goal.
Slafkovsky was credited with his seventh goal of the campaign and his third on the power play while Kris Letang was in the penalty box.
Kaiden Guhle had initially given the Canadian a one-goal lead at 15:53 of the first. From the point, Matheson advanced towards the Penguins net. He made a cross pass to Guhle, completely alone on the other side, who had no trouble finding the back of the net.
Cole Caufield collected an assist on the sequence. He extended his streak to nine games with at least one point.
Jake Allen got his second start in three games. He turned away 26 pucks after two periods. At the other end of the ice, Tristan Jarry was tested 21 times.
The Penguins are looking for their first victory in four games.
After receiving two penalties Thursday in a 4-3 victory against the New York Islanders, defenseman Arber Xhekaj was left out. Jordan Harris replaced him in the lineup.
Jesse Ylonen was also in action, replacing Brendan Gallagher. The latter was serving the first of five games of suspension for a blow to the head of Adam Pelech, of the Islanders.
After the game, both teams will enjoy a bye in the National Hockey League All-Star Game. The Habs will return to action on February 6 when they visit the Washington Capitals, while the Penguins will host the Winnipeg Jets.