Plekanec, Pacioretty score quick goals as Canadiens shut out Hurricanes 3-0

MONTREAL – Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty scored 18 seconds apart in the third period to help the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.

Pacioretty added an assist and Brandon Prust also scored for Montreal (10-4-1), which won its fourth game in a row.

Peter Budaj made 19 saves for his second win of the season and his first shutout in a Canadiens uniform.

Cam Ward stopped 23 shots for Carolina (8-5-1), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

The Canadiens had the better of the opportunities through a fairly uneventful opening 40 minutes, forcing Ward to make big stops on David Desharnais in close and Plekanec on a 2-on-1 with P.K. Subban coming out of the penalty box.

Prust finally broke the scoreless deadlock 2:06 into the third period. Lars Eller led the rush through the neutral zone before dishing off to Alex Galchenyuk. The Canadiens rookie evaded Hurricanes defenceman Bobby Sanguinetti with some slick moves before finding Prust driving to the net.

The Canadiens doubled their lead when Plekanec took a pass from Pacioretty and tossed a shot from inside the left circle at 12:03. The puck bounced on to Ward’s back and into the net, giving the Canadiens centre his eighth goal of the year.

Pacioretty finally scored his first of the season at 12:21 when his innocent-looking shot from the red line trickled past Ward.

NOTES – Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was back in the lineup, dressed as Budaj’s backup after missing Saturday’s game with the stomach flu … The Canadiens were without rookie winger Brendan Gallagher (concussion) while Yannick Weber and Tomas Kaberle were healthy scratches … Gallagher’s absence saw forward Ryan White draw back into the lineup for the first time since Feb. 7 in Buffalo … The Hurricanes were without forward Jeff Skinner (upper body) and injured defencemen Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason.