GAME RECAP: Canadiens 3, Oilers 0

MONTREAL, QC – Bleu, Blanked et Rouge.

The Edmonton Oilers failed to find the scoresheet in La Belle Province on Monday night, getting blanked 3-0 by the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre in the first of back-to-back games after goaltender Sam Montembault made all 30 saves to earn the shutout.

Forward Brendan Gallagher redirected Mike Matheson's shot over Calvin Pickard's left shoulder to open the scoring with 31 seconds left in the second period, scoring the only goal Montreal would end up needing behind a perfect Montembault over the full 60 minutes on Monday night.

"I feel like we have chances every night, but right now, we're not bearing down on the looks that we're getting," defenceman Mattias Ekholm said. "We've gotta stick with it. We know we have a lot of really good goalscorers in here and everybody can contribute, but right now, for whatever reason, it hasn't gone in for us."

Defenceman Kaiden Guhle doubled Montreal's lead at 2-0 with 5:52 gone in the final frame before Jake Evans added an empty-netter in the final five minutes after the Oilers pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Pickard finished with 20 saves on 22 shots for the Oilers in their second shutout loss of the season, while Montembault's clean sheet was the second of his career.

"A lot of credit to them defending and keeping us out to the outside, but we can work for our chances too – whether it's making a few more passes, not turning the puck over the blue line, or getting a little more presence around the net," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said.

"There's some stuff that we can do a little bit better, but a lot of credit to Montreal, because they did a lot of good things."

Edmonton's record falls to 9-8-2 entering Tuesday's second game of a back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre.

FIRST PERIOD

Having picked up a point in 18 of their last 21 trips to Montreal (13-3-5), scoring wouldn't come as easy on Monday as it did in their previous visits to the Bell Centre, if the first period would be any indication.

Early in the contest, Connor McDavid created a golden chance for Zach Hyman to shoot at an open net with a dangle at the top of Montreal's zone, but the pass cruelly jumped over the winger's stick at the last moment in the left circle – much to the dismay of the Oilers captain, who'd hit his stick against the boards in frustration.

McDavid would earn the Oilers the first power play midway through the period when he went hard to the post and was held by forward Josh Anderson. On the delayed penalty, Sam Montembault made the first of a few key saves on Monday night, stopping Nugent-Hopkins, McDavid and Hyman in close on his way to making 14 saves in the first period.

The Oilers didn't capitalize on their man advantage or during 47 more seconds of power-play time late in the period.

SECOND PERIOD

With nothing up the middle of the ice in the middle frame for both the Oilers and Canadiens, it was trending towards another scoreless affair until the action arrived in favour of the hosts during the period's final minutes.

"We had a lot of possession time, but a lot on the perimeter – especially in the second period," Knoblauch said. "It was a lot of time in the offensive zone, but we really didn't generate very much. They didn't give us many chances. I don't think we had our first five-on-five chance until the second half of that period, so as good as it looked, we really didn't have many opportunities to score."

Montembault continued to play strongly for the Canadiens and denied Hyman twice in the period – once quickly off a face-off inside six minutes of the period and again later in the frame on a drop-chance from Leon Draisaitl off the rush.

The shot-stopper had 21 saves through 40 minutes of north-south hockey on Monday in Montreal – a game style that contributed to the Canadiens taking the lead on a low-percentage chance late in the period while the Oilers struggled to generate chances through the middle of the ice.

THIRD PERIOD

The Canadiens played strong team defence in the final frame en route to handing the Oilers their second shutout of the season and second straight defeat.

Kaiden Guhle made an important block for Montreal in the first period, but the former Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman shook it off and scored with 5:52 gone in the final frame to double his team's advantage at 2-0 on a shot from the left circle that beat Pickard blocker side.

Needing two goals in the final five minutes, the Oilers pulled Pickard for the extra attacker, but defenceman Jake Evan's full-ice clearance found the back of the net to make it 3-0 with 3:08 left in regulation.

"In the O-zone, I thought we had a lot of puck time, but there were moving parts and pieces going everywhere and a lot on the perimeter," Derek Ryan added. "So more of a mentality change where we know we can't score pretty goals all the time. We've got to kind of grind it out and get a greasy one every now and then."

Forward Brendan Gallagher got one of those greasy goals for the Canadiens, redirecting a waist-high shot from Mike Matheson over the left shoulder of Pickard with 31 seconds left in the frame to give Montreal the 1-0 advantage.

"I thought they executed when they had some chances," Ryan said. "Their first goal is kind of the recipe that I'm talking about – getting pucks up to the top and to the net for tips, rebounds and that kind of stuff. I thought they did a good job with that."

Gallagher almost doubled the Canadiens' lead after play restarted at centre ice, but Pickard made a terrific left-pad stop on the Montreal forward in the period's closing moments.