Kane gets 1st 2 points with Rangers in shootout win against Canadiens

MONTREAL -- Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist for his first points in three games with the New York Rangers, who rallied three times in a 4-3 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Kane, who was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 28, tied it 3-3 at 14:31 of the second period with New York's second power-play goal. He took a pass from Adam Fox and moved up to the top of the left face-off circle before scoring on a wrist shot over Sam Montembeault's left pad.
"The first two games with not much practice time, having some time off away from the rink, it probably could have gone a little bit better," Kane said. "But it's nice to get a few practices in and obviously it was a long, long four, five days just waiting for this one to try and get going here and get back on the score sheet. So nice to get one."
Jacob Trouba had a goal and an assist, and Artemi Panarin had three assists for the Rangers (36-19-9), who had lost six of eight and trailed 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in their first game since a 4-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves.
Mika Zibanejad scored the only goal of the shootout,

New York is nine points behind the New Jersey Devils for second in the Metropolitan Division after the Devils won 3-2 in a shootout at the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
"We'll take that game," Panarin said. "It's maybe not the best game for us, but it tries to build the team."
Kaiden Guhle had a goal and an assist, Alex Belzile scored in his third straight game, and Montembeault made 30 saves for the Canadiens (26-33-6), who lost their fifth in a row (0-3-2) and second in a shootout following a 4-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
"We could have been 5-0 in that stretch," Montembeault said. "I think we're playing well, everybody's competing. The bounces are going to go our way soon, but I'm just really proud of the effort of the guys."
Guhle gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 35 seconds into the first period in his return after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury.
Alexis Lafreniere
tied it at 1-1 at 3:16 when he deflected Fox's shot from the point past Montembeault glove side for the Rangers' first power-play goal. It was his third goal over the past two games.
"I think they played really well," Lafreniere said. "We gave them maybe a little too many 2-on-1s, 3-on-2s, and 'Shesty' was good for us tonight, so it's good to get the win, and two losses in a row, it's good to get back winning."

Belzile put the Canadiens up 2-1 at 17:02 with a shot over Shesterkin's right shoulder while driving the left side.
Trouba tied it 2-2 just 48 seconds into the second period, changing his shooting angle and scoring on a wrist shot over Montembeault's glove after taking a pass from Panarin, who recovered Kane's pass into the right corner.
Josh Anderson gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 13:20 with a short-handed goal off a turnover by Kane. Chris Tierney drove the left side before passing across to Anderson, who drove in alone before snapping a wrist shot past Shesterkin's glove to give the Canadiens their third one-goal lead.
"We battled hard again, and we just came out one goal short, and we're going to find a way to get that goal," Belzile said.
NOTES:The Canadiens announced after the game that rookie defenseman Arber Xhekaj had shoulder surgery March 1 and is expected to be fully recovered for the beginning of training camp in September. Forward Kirby Dach is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, and forward Brendan Gallagher (lower body) is expected to miss another 3-4 weeks. ... Panarin has 19 three-assist games with New York, which ranks fifth in Rangers history. Brian Leetch had three assists 37 times with New York, followed by Andy Bathgate (26), Rod Gilbert (25) and Mark Messier (21). … Panarin joined Wayne Gretzky and Peter Stastny as the only undrafted players to reach 70 points in at least seven of their first eight seasons. … Rangers defenseman K'Andre Miller returned after serving a three-game suspension. … Referee Marc Joannette worked his 1,500th NHL game.