Sam Montembeault backstops Canadiens to 3-0 win over Oilers
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault, right, stops a shot as Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Skinner, left, and Canadiens' Jake Evans (71) look for the rebound during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Credit: AP/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL — Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots as the Montreal Canadiens blanked Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Monday night.
Brendan Gallagher, Kaiden Guhle and Jake Evans — into an empty net — scored for Montreal, which matched its longest winning streak of the season with a second consecutive victory.
Montembeault earned his second shutout of the campaign after a 48-save showing against Toronto in the season-opener.
Calvin Pickard made 22 saves for Edmonton. The Oilers lost their second in a row after falling 4-3 in overtime to Toronto on Saturday.
Gallagher deflected a hard pass from Mike Matheson into the top right corner to open the scoring with 31 seconds left in the second period.
Takeaways
Canadiens: Montreal outshot the Oilers 11-9 in the third period. They also denied the Oilers on three power-play opportunities. Despite its stacked offense, Edmonton ranks in the bottom third of the league with the man-advantage this season.
Oilers: Edmonton was without defenseman Darnell Nurse. Coach Kris Knoblauch announced earlier Monday that Nurse will be out five to 10 days. Nurse was injured by a hit to the head from Toronto forward Ryan Reaves on Saturday.
Edmonton Oilers' Ty Emberson (49) is upended by Montreal Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during second-period NHL hockey game action in Montreal, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Credit: AP/Christinne Muschi
Key moment
Montembeault stood tall on a partial break from Jeff Skinner midway through the third, denying the backhand with a pad save to earn “Monty! Monty!” chants.
Key stat
Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played in his 900th NHL game, all with the Oilers. Drafted first overall by the franchise in 2011, Nugent-Hopkins has 252 goals and 455 assists in that span.
Up next
The Oilers wrap up a three-game road trip at Ottawa on Tuesday. The Canadiens host Vegas on Saturday.
