Canadiens 4, Hurricanes 2
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Montreal Canadiens regrouped in the third period, scoring two goals in a two-minute span to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 in a matchup of division leaders Thursday night at PNC Arena.
Lars Eller scored on a cross-ice pass from Josh Gorges to break a 2-2 tie with 13:51 remaining. Less than two minutes later, P.K. Subban converted on a power play.
That spelled the end of Carolina's four-game winning streak.
Montreal goalie Carey Price stopped 42 shots to earn the win.
The Canadiens (15-5-4) have 34 points to lead the Eastern Conference.
Brandon Prust and Gorges scored in the first period for the Canadiens, who improved to 7-2-2 on the road. Eller finished with two assists.
The Southeast Division-leading Hurricanes (13-9-1) scored twice in a 4 1/2-minute span of the second period to pull even on goals by Jordan Staal and Drayson Bowman.
Carolina goalie Justin Peters, in his second game since he was called up from Charlotte of the American Hockey League, finished with 24 saves.
Prust collected a rebound and slid the puck under Peters for the game's opening goal.
Gorges skated alone through the slot and took Prust's pass, depositing it for a goal and a 2-0 lead less than 8 1/2 minutes into the game. It was Georges' second goal of the season and his first in 21 games.
Staal converted when the puck made it through traffic and past Price, Carolina's first goal in more than 86 minutes this season against Montreal.
Bowman was next, sending a blast past Price from a tough angle. That play resulted in an assist for Jeremy Welsh, who collected his first NHL point.
The game remained knotted at 2-2 when Price stopped Eric Staal on a second-period penalty shot after Yannick Weber disrupted the Carolina captain from behind on a short-handed breakaway.
The penalty shot was the first attempted by the Hurricanes this season.
The Hurricanes outshot Montreal 21-5 in the second period, 44-28 for the game.
NOTES: Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon played in 700th career NHL game. He's in his 13th season, with 10 seasons with the Canadiens. ... Montreal defenseman Tomas Kaberle, a Hurricane at the start of last season, was scratched after playing in the previous four games, though he was minus-2 Tuesday night at the New York Islanders. ... Tempers flared when Montreal's Weber drilled Carolina's Jeff Skinner, who a week earlier returned from a concussion. The sequence resulted in an interference penalty on Weber with 6:40 remaining in the first period and an ensuing roughing penalty on Carolina's Jordan Staal. ... Goalie Dan Ellis remains bothered by illness, so he served as the Carolina backup again. Teammate Riley Nash left the morning skate because he was sick. That meant center Jeremy Welsh was called up from Charlotte and put into the lineup. ... The Hurricanes placed center Tim Brent (upper body) on injured reserve. ... The Canadiens are three games into a season-long five-game road trip. The entire trip takes place across eight days.
