Canadiens beat Red Wings to take 2-game series

MONTREAL (AP) — Patrik Laine scored on the power play again, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight night, winning 5-1 on Saturday.

Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans, Emil Heineman and Brendan Gallagher also scored in Montreal's season-high third straight win. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson each had two assists.

Sam Montembeault stopped 20 shots in his ninth consecutive start — and second in two nights against Detroit. The Canadiens beat the Red Wings 4-2 in Detroit on Friday.

Joe Veleno opened the scoring early in the first for Detroit, and Alex Lyon made 19 saves.

Laine scored for the eighth time — all with the man-advantage — in nine games since returning from a pre-season knee injury. He beat Lyon with an attempted pass from the left circle with 39 seconds left in the first period.

Takeaways

Red Wings: Detroit dropped to seventh in the Atlantic Division behind Montreal. Veleno, a 24-year-old from Montreal, scored in his third straight game after scoring once in his first 26 to start the season.

Canadiens: Montreal looks like a different team with Laine in the lineup, improving to 6-3-0 since his debut on Dec. 3.

Key moment

Laine broke Moritz Seider's stick with a shot for the second straight night, midway through the first period with the puck deflecting into the netting. On Friday night, Laine scored the game-winner with a one-timer that broke Seider's stick en route to going in.

Key stat

Laine became the first player on record (since 1933-34) to score eight straight power-play goals for a team. He also became the third forward to score his first eight goals of a season with the man-advantage, joining Yvan Cournoyer (1966-67, 1965-66) and Owen Nolan (1995-96).

Up next

Red Wings host St. Louis on Monday, and Canadiens visit Columbus.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl