Montreal doubles up Pens, 6-3

In Pittsburgh, the Montreal Canadiens found their game, at least for one night, i a 6-3 drubbing of the Penguins on Saturday.

Jake Allen made 47 saves for the Habs win. The save count was an NHL career high.

“It was just a matter of getting some positive vibes going back home,” Allen said. “I thought it was a crucial game for us. Obviously, we’ve been down in the dumps a little bit as a group, and not playing our best hockey. I just thought it was an important game to play well with a lot of effort, and most importantly, get the win.”

Montreal improved to 6-15-2.

Jonathan Drouin opened the scoring in the game to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

“We’re obviously not having the year we want,” Drouin said. “We have to keep it simple. Be patient. When we get our chances, we get our chances.”

Evan Rodrigues knotted the game, 1-1, off the power play for the Penguins early in the third period..

“We had 50 shots. We controlled O-zone time,” Rodrigues said. “Just didn’t get the two points. … I didn’t think [Allen] would be able to get there. He makes an unbelievable save.”

Christian Dvorak restored the Habs lead just 22 seconds later.

“You can’t always answer with scoring a goal back,” Canadiens head coach Dominque Ducharme said. “But you can have a good shift and get momentum back right away. But obviously, doing that and getting rewarded with a goal is huge, for sure. That’s a good way to react.”

Jeff Carter and Sidney Crosby also scored for the Penguins.

“We had our opportunities,” Crosby said. “It was just hard for us to get a lead and gain momentum. So I think we did some good things, but we still weren’t probably as sharp as we could’ve been.”

Artturi Lehkonen also scored for the Canadiens.

Pittsburgh dropped to 10-7-4.

Josh Anderson scored twice into an empty net, and Tyler Toffoli hit for empty-net goal for the 6-3 final.