The Montreal Canadiens got 24 saves from Antti Niemi in a 3-2 win over the Capitals in Washington Friday night.
It was his first win in a Habs sweater in just his third start for the club since being claimed off waivers in early November.
“Huge for me. First of the season, first win with this team,” Niemi said. “It’s been a long time since my last one. This is a special game, special win.”
The offense for Montreal was led by Max Pacioretty who struck twice for the Habs as they built a 3-1 lead before the Caps added a cosmetic goal late in the third.
Paul Byron added a single marker in the win.
“It was a much better game. If we look at the big picture, I’d say we’ve played five of the last six really, really good games,” Pacioretty said. “We’re really upset when we don’t show up against Boston. But that’s a great way to respond as a group.”
The Habs moved to 19-21-6 with the win.
John Carlson scored early in the game on the power to tie the score at 1-1.
“That guy (Niemi) is a professional. As soon as he came, the guys here who had played with him before said he would show up and work hard no matter what,” Pacioretty said after the win. “It’s fun shooting on a goalie like that in practice who really battles hard and makes us better players. To see him get rewarded was really nice, and [he] picks up the group when we weren’t picking up our game.”
Lars Eller scored with 32 seconds left in regulation to close the gap to one goal.
“They outworked us. They outbattled us,” Caps head coach Barry Trotz said. “Our goaltender kept it close, gave us a chance to get a point. We had too many guys still on vacation. We had too much cheat and not enough compete.”
It was Niemi who saved the Canadiens with solid saves.
“A goaltender who works hard every day in practice, has a great attitude,” Montreal head coach Claude Julien said. “Those are the kind of guys you’re really happy for when they get rewarded with a big win like that.”
[WATCH:Â All Canadiens vs. Capitals highlights]
Philipp Grubauer made 23 saves in taking the loss.
“There’s some guys that have one or two points and they’re top producers. They get power-play time and there’s not much there,” Trotz said after the loss. “When we’re at our best, we get production through our whole lineup and lately [Lars] Eller’s line has been the most productive line we have. Nothing against [Eller], but there’s guys that are usually higher producers than that line.”
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