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MONTREAL — Jakob Chychrun scored a power-play goal in the game’s final minute to give the Arizona Coyotes a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.
Derek Stepan and Taylor Hall also scored for the Coyotes (28-23-7), who scored three unanswered goals after going down 2-0 early. Antti Raanta made 26 saves.
Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher scored for the Canadiens (27-24-7), who snapped a three-game winning streak. Carey Price stopped 31-of-34 shots in defeat.
The Canadiens remain five points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs have two games in hand.
With Joel Armia in the box for hooking, Chychrun beat Price with a slap shot from the point with exactly 1:00 remaining on the clock. Arizona finished 1 for 6 with the man advantage.
The Coyotes snapped a two-game losing skid and a six-game winless streak on the road.
It was a dream start for the Canadiens, who scored twice on four shots on Raanta inside two minutes in an end-to-end first period.
It took just 51 seconds for Evans to find the back of the net for his first NHL goal when he jumped on Nick Cousins’ rebound. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut last week.
Gallagher doubled the lead a minute later, his fourth goal since returning from a head injury on Jan. 9. The winger’s initial shot was blocked by defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson but he adeptly jumped on his own rebound.
Before Montreal could run away with things, the visitors cut the deficit through Stepan’s ninth of the year at 5:08 of the first. Price whiffed on the wrist shot.
A brawl at the end of the period, sparked by Oliver Ekman-Larsson cross-checking Nick Suzuki in the face, set the stage for a penalty-filled second period.
The Canadiens even failed to score on a two-minute 5-on-3 power play. They finished the game 0 for 6 with the man advantage.
Despite Montreal’s power-play opportunities, the Coyotes outshot them 17-3 in the second period. Arizona was rewarded with Hall’s equalizer at 16:36, a one-timer from Christian Dvorak on a bad turnover by Jeff Petry in his own zone to tie the game. Hall has 20 points in 23 games since joining Arizona.
Phillip Danault took a puck to the mouth in the second period on a deflection. He left the game and did not return.
Shea Weber missed a third straight game with a lower-body injury. The captain will not travel with Montreal for upcoming games in Boston and Pittsburgh.
Notes: Super Bowl champion Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of the Kansas City Chiefs was at Bell Centre. … Defenceman Brett Kulak played his 100th game with the Canadiens. … Montreal beat Arizona 4-1 on Oct. 30.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2020.
Kelsey Patterson, The Canadian Press
