Smith, Oilers blank Canadiens

In Montreal, Mike Smith made 38 saves for the Edmonton Oilers for a 3-0 in on Thursday night, over the Canadiens.

“There’s a lot of people contributing right now, and we’re finding ways to win games, just hanging around hockey games and scoring enough to win,” Oilers head coach Dave Tippett said.

Jujhar Khaira gave the Oilers the only goal they would need midway through the first period for the 1-0 lead.

“Everybody wants to chip in,” Khaira said. “Guys that are on the third, fourth line, they’re not going in thinking they’re not going to score. They’re trying to produce as well. And if anything, we just kind of take some pressure off the top guys that produce day in and day out. So when we chip in, I think it’s big for the team from top to bottom.”

Darnell Nurse put the Oilers up 2-0 in the middle frame.

“The first two games have gone really well for me,” Smith sais. “I felt like I was prepared for these games, and obviously when you’re prepared and you feel like you’re prepared, usually things go your way.”“It’s strange, but it’s something we’ve been preparing for, something that could happen,” Khaira said. “Everybody knows that, and for all of us, it was still a game day. We were focused right when we got up and just went through the day, and we got ready for the game like usual.”

Tyson Barrie made it 3-0 in the final frame off the power play.

“Teams have seen us now and they know what to expect,” Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher said. “When you look around the League, I think goals are getting harder and harder to come by. So it’s to be expected, especially with the intensity of these games as high as they are early on in the year. It’s not going to be easy.”

Jake Allen made 28 saves in the loss.

“It’s pretty clear that we’re not playing our best hockey,” Montreal head coach Claude Julien said. “We’re forcing things. I know the guys want to do things right, but we’re making a lot of little mistakes and we’re forcing plays, forcing situations. And we know we can do more. For example, we weren’t taking shots from the slot. Our shots were coming from outside, and we’ve got to find a way to get in between the dots. And I don’t think we did a good job of that tonight.”