Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky each had three-point performances as the Montreal Canadiens shut out the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre.
GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 5 vs Anaheim Ducks 0 | FINAL
Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson
89 Joshua Roy - 15 Alex Newhook - 40 Joel Armia
55 Michael Pezzetta - 74 Brandon Gignac - 56 Jesse Ylonen
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle
47 Jayden Struble - 58 David Savard
72 Arber Xhekaj - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau
Alternate: 34 Jake Allen
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Sam Montembeault
Suspension: Brendan Gallagher
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Jordan Harris (upper body)
Game Report
The Canadiens dominated this game from start to finish. Montreal beat up on a young, promising Anaheim team, who have been hit with injuries. And the Ducks truly struggled tonight.
The Canadiens outshot Anaheim 38-13, that's the lowest shot total for any Ducks' game this season. Anaheim failed to generate offense at even strength or on three power play opportunities.
It was the first shutout of the 2023-24 campaign for the Canadiens. Montreal is the last team in the league to register a shutout. For Cayden Primeau, it was the first shutout of his NHL career.
For Montreal, the captain continued his hot streak with two goals and an assist. Nick Suzuki is coming off last week's performance when he recorded six points in three games. Suzuki has 51 points in 53 games this season.
With a power play goal and two assists, Juraj Slafkovsky he registered the first three-point game of his NHL career. He also extended his point streak to six games.
Brandon Gignac scored his first goal in the NHL.
Three Canadiens were assessed fighting majors in the contest: Arber Xhekaj, Johnathan Kovacevic and Kaiden Guhle. Jayden Struble was handed a game misconduct as time expired for an altercation with Ross Johnston.
Game Statistics
Canadiens (22-23-8)
Shots: 38
Face-off %: 51.0
Power play: 2/6
Penalty minutes: 21
Hits: 18
Blocks: 12
Ducks (18-32-2)
Shots: 13
Face-off %: 49.0
Power play: 0/3
Penalty minutes: 27
Hits: 22
Blocks: 16
Scoring Summary
Canadiens Scorers
1st period: --
2nd period: Evans (3), Suzuki (18), Suzuki (19)-PPG
3rd period: Slafkovsky (11)-PPG, Gignac (1)
OT: --
SO: --
Ducks Scorers
1st period: --
2nd period: --
3rd period: --
OT: --
SO: --
Goaltenders
MTL: Cayden Primeau (W) 5-5-1
ANA: Lukas Dostal (L) 8-13-1
Canadiens Players of the Game
Nick Suzuki - The captain scored twice and added an assist.
Juraj Slafkovsky - Slafkovsky had a goal and two assists.
Jake Evans - Evans scored his third goal of the season (the game-winner) and was 68 per cent on faceoffs.
Video Highlights
Post-game Quotes
Martin St. Louis
"I think Suzy is becoming his own leader and he's letting it happen organically. He's not forcing anything and I think that's why he gets a lot of respect from our room, definitely from the coaching staff, because he's not trying to be somebody he's not."
Up Next
Montreal will visit Madison Square Garden on Thursday as they will play the New York Rangers. The Canadiens will return home to host the Capitals on Saturday night.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
Gretzky Signature Series.