Well-rested Canadiens pounce on Oilers in dominating victory

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Following a nine-day enforced layoff caused by COVID-19, the Canadiens showed no signs of lethargy Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

In one of its most-complete performances this season, Montreal defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-0, winning consecutive games for the first time since the beginning of February.

The Canadiens were playing for the first time since March 20, after Joel Armia and Jesperi Kotkaniemi were placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list on March 22, eventually resulting in four home games — including three against the Oilers — being postponed and the team’s practice facility shuttered for a week.

The Canadiens didn’t return to practice until Monday night.

Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar scored for Montreal. Carey Price had a relatively uneventful night, blocking only 17 shots for his first shutout this season and 49th of his career.

The Canadiens improved to 15-8-9, strengthening their hold on the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division. The Oilers, now 22-14-1, were playing their third game in four nights.

Had this game been drawn up by a Hollywood scriptwriter, it couldn’t have begun more favourably for the Canadiens, who opened the scoring at 18 seconds on their opening shot.

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Taking advantage of a three-on-two break, Kotkaniemi pounced on a drop pass from Paul Byron, scoring his fifth goal of the season.

Edmonton head coach Dave Tippett challenged the play, believing Lehkonen was offside, but after a lengthy delay, the goal was upheld and the Oilers received a minor penalty for the unsuccessful challenge.

While the visitors killed the disadvantage, Lehkonen made it 2-0 at 3:23 with his third goal this season, converting a rebound after being left unguarded in front of the net.

Lehkonen, a potential restricted free agent this summer, has been the centre of some recent speculation, teams reportedly inquiring about his availability as general manager Marc Bergevin might be looking to create some salary-cap room before the April 12 trade deadline.

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The Oilers didn’t produce their first shot until the sixth minute, by which time Montreal had eight on Mikko Koskinen.

The closest Edmonton came to scoring in the period came in the 10th minute. Kyle Turris came out of the penalty box and broke in alone, only to hit the post on the short side.

The Canadiens increased their lead to 3-0 on Gallagher’s 13th goal of the season at 15:58. It was a typical goal by the diminutive bulldog, who converted a rebound and outmuscled defenceman Darnell Nurse as he was falling.

At that stage of the game, Koskinen had allowed 11 Montreal goals on 86 shots through seven periods.

In an attempt to shake up his team, Tippett broke up Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to begin the second period. But while the Oilers had two early power plays, they couldn’t beat Price.

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Edmonton, the NHL’s fourth-highest scoring team, appeared to finally get on the scoreboard in the 14th minute, with McDavid converting a three-on-one break. But Canadiens interim head coach Dominique Ducharme successfully challenged the play, as replays showed Jesse Puljujarvi had gone offside.

Tatar put the game away with his seventh goal this season, coming at 17:54 of the period. He converted a superb cross-ice pass from Phillip Danault, beating Koskinen with a one-timer from in close.

Tatar now has two goals and five points in his last four games after being a healthy scratch earlier this season.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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