Allen makes 34 saves, Canadiens rally to defeat Flames in shootout

MONTREAL --Jake Allen made 34 saves, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied for a 2-1 shootout win against the Calgary Flames at Bell Centre on Monday.

Allen, who won for the third time in his past seven starts (3-4-0), made 17 saves in the second period and six in the third period.
"[Allen] came up huge on a ton of penalty kills, big saves in big moments late in the third there, so he gave us a chance to get the two points," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said.
Josh Anderson scored, and Juraj Slafkovsky had an assist for Montreal (14-12-2), which had lost three in a row at home.
Canadiens forward Cole Caufield left the game with an upper-body injury following a hit by Trevor Lewis at 3:55 of the second period. He will be reevaluated Tuesday.
"I think it happened quick," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "I don't know if it was incidental or dirty, I just think it was one of those hockey plays."

Jonathan Huberdeau ended a six-game goal drought, Mikael Backlund extended his assist streak to four games, and Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves for Calgary (13-11-5), which went 1-for-6 on the power play in the finale of a three-game road trip (0-1-2).
Flames defenseman Chris Tanev left the game with an upper-body injury at 8:50 of the second period after being struck on the side of his head by a slap shot from Suzuki. Calgary was already playing without defenseman MacKenzie Weegar (non-COVID illness) and forward Elias Lindholm (upper-body injury).
"[Tanev's] tough, he doesn't stay down very often," Markstrom said. "So, when he stayed down, you're worried. I haven't talked to him after but hopefully he's OK."
Tanev was taken to the hospital for tests, which proved negative. He was cleared to travel to Calgary and will be reevaluated Tuesday.
"Obviously I feel really bad. I'm trying to reach out to him," Suzuki said. "It just kind of muffed off my stick. I'm not trying to go head high, but that's unfortunate."
The Flames were 7-for-7 on the penalty kill, including four minutes in overtime after forward Tyler Toffoli was assessed a double minor for high-sticking Anderson at 49 seconds.
"We fought hard, it was a tough game," Huberdeau said. "Killing a four-minute penalty in overtime, that's huge, and guys were blocking shots. Some guys went down, and I think guys stepped up. It [stinks] that we didn't get the win, but at least a point."
Markstrom made six saves on the penalty kill, including against Suzuki on a one-timer in the slot at 1:25, forward Mike Hoffman on a one-timer at 1:45 and defenseman Joel Armia from in front at 4:14.
"Obviously it [stinks] when you lose the shootout because, when you kill four out of five minutes in overtime, you almost deserve to win," Calgary defenseman Rasmus Andersson said.

Huberdeau put Calgary up 1-0 with a power-play goal at 5:04 of the second, scoring over Allen's right pad on a loose puck at the left post.
Anderson tied it 1-1 at 1:40 of the third when he redirected Slafkovsky's centering pass from the edge of the crease.
Calgary had a chance to take the lead at 11:36 on a 2-on-0, but defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic got back to break up a pass to Nazem Kadri at the right post from Dillon Dube.
Suzuki and Kirby Dach scored in the shootout for Montreal. Huberdeau scored for Calgary before Allen stopped Kadri to seal the victory.
"I think it was a good team win," St. Louis said. "We weren't perfect, but over 60 minutes I think it was one of our best games in terms of details from start to finish.
"The game was in front of us, it was tight, we did a good job of killing penalties. I would have liked our power play to give us a bit of separation or the win. But we continued to play and we went and got that extra point that I think we deserved."

NOTES:The Canadiens are 4-0 in the shootout this season. ... Flames forward Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch for a second straight game. … Calgary defenseman Connor Mackey had one shot on goal in 8:52 of ice time after being a healthy scratch for 14 games. …. Markstrom is 0-3-1 in his past four starts, including a 2-1 loss to the Canadiens on Dec. 1. … Anderson has scored in three of his past four games following a seven-game goal drought.