Habs score 3 in first, crush woeful Ducks

Brendan Gallagher had two goals and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens remained in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 4-1 win against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Jonathan Drouin matched his career high with three assists, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Phillip Danault also scored goals and Carey Price made 24 saves for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-1-1 since Jan. 12.

Ryan Getzlaf scored for the Ducks, who have been outscored 27-6 in their five-game losing streak. Chad Johnson made 28 saves in his third start in goal for Anaheim since he was claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 11. Johnson had come on in relief of John Gibson the previous three games.

Despite Johnson's efforts, however, the Canadiens built a 3-0 lead in the first period. Gallagher scored his 20th goal of the season to give Montreal a 1-0 lead at 7:11. Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson turned the puck over to Drouin in the left circle, and he made a quick pass to Gallagher at the right hash for the one-timer.

Kotkaniemi made it 2-0 at 9:36. He and Joel Armia came through the neutral zone on the left side. Anaheim defenseman Brandon Montour attempted to check Kotkaniemi at the blue line, but he passed to Armia against the wall while avoiding contact with Montour. Armia skated into the left circle before taking a shot from the faceoff dot. Johnson made the save, but the rebound came to Kotkaniemi cutting into the slot, and he shot the puck past Johnson while surrounded by three Anaheim players.

Gallagher made it 3-0 at 16:39. Drouin's shot from the right circle was blocked by defenseman Michael Del Zotto, but the puck came back to Drouin. He then made a quick pass to Gallagher, who fired another one-timer past Johnson, this one from the high slot.

Getzlaf cut the deficit to 3-1 when he scored on a wraparound at 11:27 of the second period. Montreal re-established the three-goal lead when Danault scored his 10th goal of the season at 2:31 of the third period.

--Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)