Winnipeg Jets' Adam Lowry (17) celebrates his goal with teammate Mason Appleton (22) as Montreal Canadiens' Jordan Harris (bottom) skates by during second period NHL hockey action in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL – Goaltender Jake Allen made 42 saves as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday night.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki scored to open the shootout and Allen shut the door the rest of the way after a scoreless back-and-forth overtime period.
Justin Barron, Sean Monahan and Joel Armia had the goals for Montreal (5-2-1). Kaiden Guhle pitched in with two assists.
Montreal’s Cole Caufield, who scored the OT winner Thursday in a 4-3 comeback win over Columbus, missed a wide-open cage on a one-timer with 30 seconds left in the extra frame.
Captain Adam Lowry scored twice, Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist, and Mason Appleton pitched in two helpers for Winnipeg (4-3-1). Backup netminder Laurent Brossoit made 26 saves.
Jets stars Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele were held off the scoresheet. Scheifele, who was suspended four games for a hit that injured Canadiens forward Jake Evans in the 2021 playoffs, received boos from the Bell Centre fans every time he touched the puck.
The Jets went 0-for-4 on the power play. The Canadiens were 1-for-2.
Armia, making his season debut, evened the score at 3-3 one minute 54 seconds into the third period with a shot on the rush off a pass from Guhle, who returned from a four-game absence due to injury.
The 30-year-old Armia began the season with the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket, producing four goals and an assist in four games.
The Jets had an opportunity to score the go-ahead goal on the power play late as Montreal’s Arber Xhekaj took a high-sticking penalty with 1:42 left, but the Canadiens held off any pressure to keep the game tied.
Winnipeg began the second period on fire with two goals in the first 33 seconds.
Lowry scored his second of the night 15 seconds in, finishing off a sneaky pass from Niederreiter behind the net before tucking the puck past Allen.
Niederreiter added to Montreal’s misery 18 seconds with a backhand goal after Mason Appleton stripped the puck off Juraj Slafkovsky and provided the assist.
Montreal responded with a power-play goal from Monahan, who took a pass from Nick Suzuki in front of the net before going forehand-backhand on Brossoit.
Monahan has four goals and three assists in eight games this season after missing most of last season with a lower-body injury.
The Canadiens were lucky to be tied after one period thanks to Allen as Winnipeg dominated the shots 18-6.
Lowry opened the scoring on a penalty shot, going five-hole on Allen after Montreal’s Alex Newhook hooked him on a prior breakaway.
Barron evened the scoring 37 seconds later after jumping up in the rush and trickling a shot past Brossoit. It was the defenceman’s third goal in four games.
MATHESON LEAVES GAME
Top Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson (undisclosed) left Saturday’s contest and did not return. Matheson had five points in eight games this season, and averaged 26 minutes a night entering the game.
Montreal is already down top-pairing defenceman David Savard for six-to-eight weeks due to a left-hand fracture.
BROTHERS BARRON
Brothers Morgan and Justin Barron, the only siblings from Nova Scotia to make the NHL, faced off for the second time of their careers on Saturday.
Morgan, a 24-year-old Jets forward, has two goals and one assist in eight games with Winnipeg this season. Justin, 21, has three goals in five games with the Canadiens.
Gerard and Jenny Barron were in the stands to watch their sons, who grew up in Halifax.
The family head-to-head is now 2-0 after Justin’s Canadiens also beat Morgan’s Jets 4-1 in their first meeting on Jan. 17.
UP NEXT
Winnipeg: Hosts the New York Rangers on Monday.
Montreal: Opens a three-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2023.
