Baun’s three-point night lifts Blackhawks over Habs in pre-season action

MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens fell behind early and never recovered against a depleted Blackhawks lineup.

The Canadiens gave up three first-period goals to the visiting club and ultimately lost 5-1 in NHL pre-season action on Friday night at the Bell Centre.

Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu called the game a “learning experience.”

“Starts are one of the biggest things we talk about each year,” he said. “We’ve usually been a good starting team. Tonight was a mental lapse, but we know what to do.”

The Blackhawks were without Patrick Kane, who’s the subject of an ongoing police investigation. Kane has been accused of sexual assault but has not been charged in an alleged incident dating back to August.

Also absent from Chicago’s lineup were veterans Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Marian Hossa.

But the young Blackhawks team that dressed for the encounter took advantage of Montreal’s sloppy defending and lack of chemistry early, going up 3-0 after 13 minutes of play.

“We weren’t very good tonight,” said Beaulieu. “It didn’t seem like our heads were in it straight from the beginning. It’s tough coming back in this league from a three-goal deficit right off the top. They were better than us tonight.”

Kyle Baun scored twice and added an assist for Chicago (2-1-0). Ryan Garbutt, Garrett Ross and Jan Hejda also scored for the Blackhawks.

Down 3-0, new Hab Zack Kassian gave the home side hope when his backhand shot beat goalie Scott Darling 25 seconds into the second period, but that was the only offence the Canadiens could muster on the night.

“We were chasing a lot,” said Kassian, who scored his first goal with his new team since being acquired in the off-season. “We weren’t attacking, and when you’re chasing, it’s a tough game. You’re always behind and it’s tough to make things happen.”

The game was Montreal’s second in three nights. The Habs lost 4-3 in a shootout versus the Washington Capitals on Thursday and will take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday.

The Canadiens are 0-1-2 so far in pre-season play.

Playing with the man advantage, Garbutt deflected a David Rundblad shot from the point past Carey Price at 8:41 of the opening frame, and Ross completed a nifty tic-tac-toe play two minutes later to give Chicago the 2-0 lead.

Baun scored his first of the encounter at 13:48 of the first period and added his second — on a deflection — three minutes into the third.

Hejda added Chicago’s fifth in to an empty net.

Montreal’s most experienced line — Brian Flynn, Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher — recorded nine of Montreal’s 23 shots.

Backup goalies didn’t play on Friday, as Price and Darling played a full 60 minutes. Price made 26 saves on 30 shots while Darling stopped 22 shots.

Montreal’s Ryan Johnston left the game early in the third period after taking a hit from Garbutt along the boards. Gabriel Dumont, 24, took exception to the hit and slammed Garbutt to the ice. Johnston returned with five minutes on the clock.

Dumont later went to the dressing room himself after being hit by Chicago’s Chris Desousa. Canadiens prospect Jeremy Gregoire, 20, came to the defence of his teammate and earned a fighting major and a game misconduct as a result.

“There were two questionable hits and the guys reacted accordingly,” said head coach Michel Therrien, lauding Dumont and Gregoire. “If there’s something we should praise, it’s really their reaction.”

Gregoire and fellow prospect Nicolas Blanchard made their Canadiens debut. Charles Hudon and defenceman Brett Lernout played for the second straight match.

Prior to puck drop, Montreal honoured former Hab Francis Bouillon, who retired Friday.