The Canadian Press
EDMONTON–The Montreal Canadiens knew that if they kept getting shots on net, they’d break through the Edmonton Oilers.
Paul Byron scored a pair of goals and added an assist as the Montreal Canadiens rallied for a 4-1 victory in Edmonton last night.
All four goals came in a six-minute span in the third period–erasing the Oilers’ early 1-0 lead.
“We just stuck with it,” Byron said. “It was a matter of time, and we got some great bounces at the end.”
Max Pacioretty also scored a pair of goals for the Canadiens (39-22-8), who now have won seven of their last eight games.
Carey Price, who returned from the ‘flu after missing his team’s 5-0 loss in Calgary, made 24 saves for the win.
“We get to go home with three wins out of four games on this trip–with everything we’ve had to face,” said Montreal head coach Claude Julien.
“With the ‘flu going around the team and everything else, we’re pretty happy with the road trip.”
Milan Lucic netted the lone goal for the Oilers (35-24-9), who now have lost three-straight.
Cam Talbot stopped 37 shots in taking the loss.
Although the Oilers have slipped into a wild-card spot in the playoff race, forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said it’s not the time to get frustrated.
“We’re still in the thick of things,” he stressed. “We can’t dwell on losses, we just have to keep moving forward.
“At the start of the year if you asked us if we’d be in this spot, I’d take it after five years of not even being close,” Nugent-Hopkins noted.
“It’s going to be intense coming down the stretch here but it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he added.
“We have to relish it. We can’t worry about what other teams are doing,” Nugent-Hopkins stressed.
“If we win, we’re going to get in. Our fate is in our own hands now.”
The Oilers almost added to their lead midway through the third, but Price made a huge save on a point-blank shot by Patrick Maroon.
“You can’t underestimate how important those saves are,” Julien said.
“Another big duel of goaltenders but we found ways to score goals in the end.”
Elsewhere in the NHL, Chicago doubled Minnesota 4-2, the N.Y. Rangers beat Detroit 4-1, Anaheim downed Washington 5-2, and San Jose dumped Dallas 5-1.