NHL: Canadiens defeat Oilers to earn two-game sweep

Alexander Romanov scored his first NHL goal, while Shea Weber and Artturi Lehkonen each scored once to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday in Edmonton.

Devin Shore had the lone Oilers goal, scoring on a short-handed breakaway late in the game to spoil Jake Allen’s shutout bid in the Canadiens net. Allen made 25 saves while Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen stopped 31 shots.

The victory gave the Canadiens a sweep of their two-game set against the Oilers, winning 5-1 on Saturday.

Romanov, a 21-year-old rookie defenseman, put the Canadiens up 1-0 at the 9:54 mark of the first period, firing a shot from the point that zipped right past Koskinen.

The Canadiens held onto that lead despite taking three consecutive penalties in the back half of the period. First, Phillip Danault took an interference call, then Joel Armia got tagged for holding against Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Next, Ben Chiarot lifted the puck over the glass on a clearing attempt and was sent to the penalty box for delay of game.

The Oilers banged away at the puck but couldn’t solve Koskinen, despite 32 seconds of 5-on-3 play.

The Oilers earned another power play early in the second but they couldn’t muster a single shot on net.

Weber padded the Canadiens lead to 2-0 with 11 seconds left but the goal was initially waved off. Just before Weber picked up his own rebound, skated behind the net and banked the puck off Koskinen’s back, Shore crashed into his own goaltender.

Referees called off the goal, saying Canadiens defender Jeff Petry caused the collision that ultimately inhibited Koskinen from making the save on Weber. Canadiens head coach Claude Julien challenged the call and, upon video review, officials reversed their call for the goal to stand.

The Oilers had a big chance late in the third with their seventh power play, courtesy of a tripping call against Nick Suzuki. The Canadiens got the jump instead, with Lehkonen picking up a loose puck and turning it into a 2-on-1. He took the shot himself and put the Canadiens up 3-0.

Shore finally broke the Oilers’ egg with the Canadiens on the man-advantage. He broke away from the pack to face Allen alone at the 17:51 mark and ripped the puck into the net.

–Field Level Media