Recap: Ducks Offense Goes Quiet in 5-0 Loss to Habs
Gignac #Gignac
The Ducks could not kick off a four-game eastern road trip with a win tonight in Montreal, falling 5-0 to the Canadiens at Bell Centre.
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The loss, Anaheim’s second in a row out of the All-Star Break, dropped the Ducks to 18-32-2 on the season.
Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki led the Habs offensively with three-point nights. Jake Evans and Brandon Gignac also scored. Cayden Primeau earned his first career NHL shutout with 13 saves.
Rookie defenseman Pavel Mintyukov returned to Anaheim’s lineup in the loss after an 11-game absence to a separated shoulder. Mintyukov skated alongside Ilya Lyubushkin and finished with one shot on net in 15:28 of ice-time.
Lukas Dostal made 32 saves in net for Anaheim.
After a scoreless first period, Montreal claimed a 2-0 edge on a pair of goals off 2-on-1 rushes.
The first went to Evans, who took a centering pass from Tanner Pearson and lifted a backhand bid past Dostal.
Suzuki scored eight minutes later, finishing a backdoor pass from Slafkovsky, who had three points on the night.
The Montreal captain has scored in four straight games.
Power-play tallies from Suzuki and Slafkovsky, one late in the second and the latter early in the third, extended the Montreal lead before Gignac capped the scoring with his first NHL goal.
The Ducks continue a four-game road trip Thursday in Ottawa.