In Montreal, the Canadiens scored 18 seconds into their game with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday and Carey Price made 16 saves to get a 4-0 win.
“We knew we were going to be fresh, but we just harped on the little things and keep it simple, especially early on trying to get back into it,” the Canadiens’ Shea Weber said.
The Habs were coming off COVID-19 protocols.
“It was a really good start for the team,” the Canadiens’ Paul Byron said. “Scoring those two goals gave us a lot of energy. Every player had a good game and it was a great team effort.”
Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the early scorer for Montreal.
“Scoring early in a game like that is always ideal, but I really liked our whole game tonight,” Montreal head coach Dominique Ducharme said.
Artturi Lehkonen, doubled the lead about three minutes later.
“We didn’t start very well, we didn’t play very well, and we didn’t end very well,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said. “That’s about it.”
Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar piled it on in the middle frame to make it 4-0 for the final.
Montreal improved to 15-8-9.
Mikko Koskinen made 28 saves in the loss.
“There’s no excuses,” the Oilers’ Adam Larsson said. “We expected a tough game today, a hardworking team that’s been sitting, resting for a long time. This stuff happens throughout the year, so it’s nothing to get too riled up about.”
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