Kraken top Canadiens in shootout, salvage final game of road trip

MONTREAL -- The Seattle Kraken got their only win of a five-game road trip, defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in the shootout at Bell Centre on Saturday.

Marcus Johansson scored on a backhand over Sam Montembeault's glove in the seventh round for the only goal of the tiebreaker.
Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves, and Johansson had two assists for Seattle (18-37-6), which had lost four in a row. The Kraken were 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
"We didn't want to go home without a win," Grubauer said. "That was a hard-earned win for sure. I think the last period we made it way too interesting, but we found a way to win it and get two points out of it and we get to go home. And we've got to take that momentum and how we played in the first two periods to our home."
The Kraken completed a season sweep of the Canadiens; the expansion team won its first game against Montreal 5-1 on Oct. 26.
"We did a good job tonight in finding pressure, in getting our clears and we got saves at big times on the PK," Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. "And that's a formula to give you a chance even if you take six [penalties], which is too many for us. But those guys did a good job."

Alexander Romanov had a goal and an assist, and Montembeault made 32 saves for Montreal (15-35-8), which had won seven of nine.
"I think the boys feel very good about their game and so do I," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "It's never perfect, not every game is perfect. We've had a couple of games where I feel close to perfect, but overall we've been pretty good. Sometimes you just don't know if you're going to get the goals or if you're going to get the key saves, but overall we're in every game and I think the guys see that."
Nick Suzuki pulled the Canadiens even at 3-3 at 17:48 of the third period. Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson deflected Suzuki's centering pass from the right side past Grubauer.
"The guys stuck with it, eventually got a bounce at the end," Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said. "Too bad we couldn't score in the shootout for 'Monty.'"

Seattle forward Jared McCann said, "That's hockey. It's just the way it goes. [Larsson] tried to make a play, everybody saw that, so we were there for him. He's done a lot of great things for us this year, so we just stuck with him. It's good to get the win for him."
Yanni Gourde gave Seattle a 1-0 lead at 9:26 of the first period when he got credit for a shorthanded goal. Gourde checked Montreal defenseman Chris Wideman, who knocked the puck into his own net on the hit after he took the puck from Montembeault and cut across the crease.
A goal by Seattle's Mason Appleton during the same penalty at 10:32 was disallowed after Montreal challenged for offside.
Michael Pezzetta tied it 1-1 at 14:50. He took Jake Evans' pass from the left corner off his right skate and shot past Grubauer's glove from the slot.
Ryan Donato put the Kraken up 2-1 at 16:42 with a shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle on a rebound off the end boards.
McCann made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 15:05 of the second period.

Romanov cut it to 3-2 at 1:04 of the third period. He scored on a one-timer over Grubauer's right shoulder from the top of the left face-off circle.
Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson made his season debut in Montreal's 58th game after recovering from a back injury. He had two shots and six hits in 16:38 of ice time. Edmundson will not play at the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday in a decision made after consultation with team doctors.
"There's a few shifts where I was trying to catch my breath and started to cramp up in the third," Edmundson said. "But it's just nice to get back out there with the guys, and I think over the next couple of games I'll get back into game shape."
NOTES: The game was played in front of the first capacity crowd in Montreal since Dec. 9 after COVID-19 restrictions in the province of Quebec were lifted. … Johansson's first assist, on Donato's goal, was his 400th NHL point. The forward has scored 401 points (141 goals, 260 assists) in 733 games with the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and Kraken. … The Canadiens placed defenseman Kale Clague on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.