Allen makes 45 saves, Canadiens shut out Sharks

SAN JOSE --Jake Allen made 45 saves for the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Thursday.

Allen made 13 power-play saves in his first shutout with the Canadiens and 22nd of his NHL career. His last shutout was March 8, 2020 for the St. Louis Blues.
It was the second-most saves in a shutout in Canadiens history. Jacques Plante made 52 saves in a 2-0 win at the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 13, 1955.
"[Allen] has been playing unbelievable lately," Canadiens forward Josh Anderson said. "We just haven't played good enough in front of him. He really deserved this one tonight. [He's] a good goalie, a really good goalie, so we know what we have back there and we're really confident in him each and every night."
Anderson had a goal and an assist, and Nick Suzuki had two assists for Montreal (2-6-0), which had not won at San Jose since Nov. 23, 1999.
"I thought it was a crucial game for our group," Allen said. "I know it's early, but we're obviously in a funk, and I thought it was an important game to get our momentum going so we can finish this trip on the right note."

Adin Hill made 28 saves for the Sharks (4-3-0), who have lost three in a row after starting the season with four straight wins.
"I thought we looked a little tired at times coming out," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. "There's no panic in the room right now. Three [losses] in a row now, we could still be in a good spot with a good showing against [the] Winnipeg [Jets on Saturday]."
Mike Hoffman made it 1-0 at 12:09 of the first period. Hill stopped a shot by Brett Kulak and Hoffman scored with a backhand on the rebound. It was his third goal in three games.

Alexander Romanov made it 2-0 at 8:53 of the second period with a slap shot from the blue line.
Brendan Gallagher scored a power-play goal at 12:54 to increase the lead to 3-0.
Anderson scored into an empty net at 17:52 of the third period for the 4-0 final.
"Even at 3-0 coming out in the third [period], the game wasn't over for us, we got some really good looks right on the doorstep," Boughner said. "We ran up against a hot goaltender. We really did."
NOTES:Montreal's only other shutout at San Jose was Jan. 4, 1992, the first time they met. … Sharks forwards Timo Meier (four goals, five assists) and Logan Couture (three goals, six assists) each had their season-opening six-game point streak end. … San Jose was 0-for-4 on the power play and is 0-for-12 in the past four games.