In another physical and nasty showdown, the Montreal Canadiens downed the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 at Rogers Place on Wednesday night.
Oilers forward Zack Kassian left the game for good just three minutes into the first period. He hit Habs defenceman Shea Weber behind the Montreal net and then struggled to get to the bench. He had to be helped to the dressing room by the Oilers’ medical staff.
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The Canadiens outshot the Oilers 13-4 in the first and took the lead in the final minute on a backhand by Artturi Lehkonen.
Early in the second, Edmonton defenceman Caleb Jones sent Oilers captain Connor McDavid in on a breakaway. McDavid beat Montreal goaltender Jake Allen for this 25th goal of the season.
Habs forward Josh Anderson came right back 11 seconds later to restore the Canadiens’ lead.
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Montreal forward Tyler Toffoli took advantage of a loose puck in front to score on the power play with 11:50 left in the third. Anderson added his second of the evening with 4:57 to go.
With Edmonton netminder Mike Smith on the bench for an extra attacker, Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a power-play goal with just over two minutes to go.
The Oilers kept the pressure on and pulled within a goal with 1:11 left on a long shot by McDavid. In the final 30 seconds, Allen made a couple of big saves to preserve the win for the Habs.
Nugent-Hopkins returned after missing two weeks with an upper-body injury. Oilers forward Jujhar Khaira didn’t play after being shaken up Monday.
The Oilers (27-16-2) will visit Winnipeg on Monday.
