Two players in the midst of disappointing seasons \u2014 Samuel Montembeault and Brendan Gallagher \u2014 came up big for the Montreal Canadiens (32-17-8) in a 5-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Habs head into the three-week Olympic break with a 4-0-1 record in their last five games. They return to action on Feb. 26 against the New York Islanders.<\/p>\n
Montembeault won his first game since Jan. 17 with a 36-save performance. Gallagher had three points, boosting his season total to 16.<\/p>\n
It was a lopsided score in favour of Montreal in the end, but it didn\u2019t start that way. The home team came out swinging, and at one point led 1-0 with an 8-0 advantage in shots. Kyle Connor scored his 25th of the season at 6:07 on the power play.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens righted the ship before the end of the first. With 3:34 remaining in the period, Oliver Kapanen banged home a rebound by Connor Hellebuyck to put the Habs on the board.<\/p>\n
In the second, the Habs scored twice in a span of 1:16 to take a 3-1 lead. Josh Anderson scored the first off a deflection from a Jayden Struble shot. Struble entered the lineup in place of Arber Xhekaj. He played more than 10 minutes, which is something Xhekaj hadn\u2019t done in five of his last six starts.<\/p>\n
The next goal was by Lane Hutson, who hit double digits for the first time in his young career. He didn\u2019t have much room, but he somehow squeezed the puck past Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n
In the third period, Gallagher added to his point total with his third point of the night, this time a power play goal. Phillip Danault added an empty netter after the Jets pulled their goalie with over five minutes to play. The Habs got a few chances before Danault cashed in with Gallagher in the box and icings off the table. Anderson assisted on the goal, giving himself a three-point night as well. Noah Dobson collected his second assist. He\u2019s a point away from matching his total on Long Island a season ago.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens enter the break with 72 points in the standings, which puts them on pace for 104. That would be a 13-point improvement from a year ago. The gains have been made on offence: the team is among the elite in goals-for with 197 (second only to Colorado at the conclusion of the game, but with Edmonton still playing). They\u2019re on pace to eclipse last year\u2019s goal total by nearly 40.<\/p>\n