MONTREAL (AP) — Nick Suzuki and Patrik Laine each had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson also scored for Montreal, and Sam Montembeault made 20 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and fifth of his career.
Frederik Andersen finished with 14 saves for the Hurricanes.
Slafkovsky opened the scoring at 8:05 of the first period after deflecting a shot from the point. Laine’s deflection with 2:23 left in the opening period made it 2-0.
Montreal continued to set the tempo, forcing four consecutive Carolina penalties. Suzuki converted on the fourth when left alone in the slot, firing a wrist shot over Andersen’s glove midway through the second.
Hutson made it 4-0 with another power-play goal midway through the third.
Takeaways
Hurricanes: Despite having four players on pace to score 60 points or more, Carolina’s chance creation was tepid. They enjoyed long stretches of possession on a number of occasions, but could not find any space in the slot to trouble Montembeault.
Canadiens: Montreal has developed a habit of making it difficult when protecting a lead. This time, solid goaltending and an effective 2-for-5 power play removed any doubt.
