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The Canadiens regained their scoring touch Monday as they crushed the Vancouver Canucks 6-2 at the Bell Centre.
The top-scoring team in the NHL was shut out by the Calgary Flames Saturday but they scored in the first minute Monday night and never looked back.
The win ended a four-game win streak for the Canucks and gave the Canadiens a 3-0-1 record against Vancouver. Montreal is alone in second place in the Canadian Division with 14 points on a 6-1-2 record. Montreal is one point behind Toronto and two points clear of Vancouver, which has played three more games.
Montreal used its speed and the forecheck to take a 3-1 lead in the first period.
Josh Anderson led an odd-man rush in the opening minute after picking up a loose puck in the neutral zone. Jonathan Drouin fired wide of the net but Anderson chased the puck down behind the net and set up Nick Suzuki, who was alone in front of Braden Holtby.
Artturi Lehkonen was forechecking on the penalty-kill when he separated Adam Gaudette from the puck in the Canucks’ zone and went in alone to score on Holtby at 6:10. It was a league-leading sixth shorthanded goal for the Canadiens, matching their total for all of last season.
