STL@MTL: The streak stops at five

MONTREAL -- The Habs fell just short against one of the West's best on Tuesday.

After initially tying things up 1-1 late in the first, the Canadiens allowed a pair of quick goals in under a minute for a tenth time this season to fall behind 3-1 in the middle frame.
A pair of Shea Weber tallies would briefly tie things up again in the third, but they weren't enough to get the job done.

Still, it definitely took some mental toughness to bounce back from two goals-against in a seven-second span -- an encouraging sign moving forward.
"I thought we showed a lot of character. We could have quit when we went down 3-1, especially after giving up two goals on back-to-back shifts there, but the guys stuck to the program," acknowledged Weber. "[The Blues] could have hemmed us a bit in the second, but I thought we came back with a couple of good shifts and were able to tie it up in the third."
Ultimately, it was a Brayden Schenn deflection off of defenseman David Schlemko's skate which sealed the deal, putting an end to Montreal's five-game win streak. Schenn completed a hat trick on the play.

"They were a very good team. We knew it would be a battle, and I thought we did a good job of fighting back there twice," continued Weber. "Obviously we dug ourselves into a bit of a hole, but we showed character coming back. It was definitely a tough bounce at the end."
MILESTONE MAN
That bad bounce spoiled what was otherwise shaping up to be a memorable night for Weber.
Playing in his 100th game with the Canadiens, the 13-year NHL veteran registered his 500th career point with his fifth goal of the season, at 17:04 in the second.
Then at 6:34 in the final frame, he registered his 501st, in the form of a third-period equalizer.
Both came off of face-offs, with assists from Andrew Shaw.

But despite not being able to complete the comeback, Weber nevertheless took a moment to reflect on the milestone postgame.
"All the history in this building and organization is pretty special," underlined the second-year Hab, who has missed just 11 games since being acquired by the Canadiens in June 2016. "Unfortunately it wasn't 500 points here, but it's still pretty special to be able to do it [at the Bell Centre] wearing this jersey."
THE BETTER BENN?
Another D-man who hit a milestone of sorts on Tuesday night was Jordie Benn, who got the Habs on the board at 15:28 in the first.
With the tally -- his fourth of the season -- Benn matched his career-best four goals from a season ago, albeit in 43 less games.
And he did it with a blast from the point, ripping a slap shot through traffic and past Blues netminder Jake Allen.

"We like to joke around that all my shots are probably in the low 70s, but I think that one hit about 92," cracked the 30-year-old, who also scored in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
So, might the bearded Benn have a thing or two to teach his sharp-shooting younger brother, Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn?

"No, Jamie knows how to do that pretty well," concluded the Victoria, B.C. native with a laugh. "He might not have the hardest shot, but he's probably still got a harder wrist shot than my slapshot."