National Hockey League
Vancouver 5, Montreal 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 12, 2023
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees: Jake Brenk, Corey Syvret
Linesmen: Brandon Gawryletz, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 21105

Casey DeSmith made 30 saves to help the visiting Vancouver Canucks defeat the Montreal Canadiens 5-2 on Sunday night.

Conor Garland, Dakota Joshua and Brock Boeser each had a goal and an assist for the Canucks, who won after having their five-game win streak snapped Saturday night in Toronto.

Filip Hronek earned an assist in his 10th straight game, becoming just the seventh defenseman in the past 30 years with an assist streak of 10-plus games, according to NHL.com.

Mike Matheson and Arber Xhekaj scored for the Canadiens, who had opened a four-game homestand with a 3-2 overtime win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Jake Allen made 32 saves.

After a scoreless first period, Garland gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 6:15 of the second period when he got behind the Canadiens defense on the rush and tipped in a centering pass from J.T. Miller.

Ilya Mikheyev increased the lead to 2-0 at 9:17 with his third goal in three games. After Allen lost his goalie stick, the Canadiens cleared the puck, but Andrei Kuzmenko controlled it at center ice and quickly fed Mikheyev. He crossed the blue line and scored on a wrist shot from just above the left circle.

Joshua made it 3-0 at 17:57. Garland got his own rebound in the slot and Allen stopped his second attempt, but Joshua knocked in the rebound in traffic from just beyond the crease.

The Canadiens pulled within 3-1 on a power-play goal with 13:14 left in the third period. DeSmith made a pair of saves on Josh Anderson in tight, and then Sean Monahan poked the puck back to Matheson, who scored from between the circles. The goal came just after a 5-on-3 became a 5-on-4.

Boeser scored into an empty net at 18:30 to make it 4-1.

After Xhekaj tallied with 49 seconds remaining to make it 4-2, Phillip Di Giuseppe scored into an empty net with eight seconds left for the 5-2 final.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vancouver   Montreal
Brock Boeser 2 Points Mike Matheson 1
Brock Boeser 1 Goals Mike Matheson 1
J.T. Miller 2 Assists Jake Allen 1
N/A Power Play Goals Mike Matheson 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Casey DeSmith .938 Save Percentage Jake Allen .914
Casey DeSmith 30 Saves Jake Allen 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vancouver 37 5 0-2 1-2 4 24
Montreal 32 2 1-2 2-2 4 18
Upcoming Games
  • Montreal will play their next game at home against Calgary. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .571 after a loss.
  • Vancouver will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Canucks have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .750 after a loss.