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Canadiens score four power-play goals to top Penguins

Dec 17, 2006 - 6:10 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- With captain Saku Koivu on a tear, the Montreal Canadiens capitalized with the man advantage.

Koivu scored twice and defenseman Andrei Markov added three assists for the Canadiens, who netted four power-play goals en route to their fourth win in five games, a 6-3 triumph over the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.

After netting a pair of goals - including a shorthanded tally - in Thursday's 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay, Koivu recorded his fifth multi-goal effort of the campaign and raised his team-leading total to 14 tallies.

"At this time of the year when Christmas comes and we play a lot of games, we (have) some tough games," Koivu said. "You tend to lose your focus a bit thinking about those couple of days off.

"If we can push this another week the way we've been doing, it's going to be huge for us. Finally, we're finding that little bit of consistency that we've been (looking) for for a long time."

The Canadiens trailed, 2-1, before Alexei Kovalev ignited a comeback with a one-timer of Markov's cross-ice feed that beat goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the glove side during the man advantage.

Koivu gave Montreal a 3-2 lead with 4:10 left in the middle session with a shot from the left faceoff circle that found the top right corner of the net.

After defenseman Sheldon Souray scored his 12th tally on a power play just 95 seconds later, Koivu struck again with a shot that sneaked inside the right goalpost with only five seconds remaining in the period.

"They had a lot of power plays in the first period and shot a lot of pucks at our net," Koivu said. "It looked ugly, but it was only 2-1 after the first. We knew we (had) to get back in the game and start skating. It's a good feeling when you can come back and win."

"We're starting to get comfortable with each other and playing with confidence," Souray added. "We have different guys stepping up at different times. We have different looks. If they are going to start keying on guys, there (are) going to be openings. We're finding that and using it."

Rookie sensation Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring for Pittsburgh with 7:55 left in the first period by knocking the rebound of Erik Christensen's shot inside the right goalpost.

Montreal took advantage of Christensen's hooking penalty when Michael Ryder fired a one-timer from the left faceoff circle off Guillaume Latendresse's cross-ice feed over Fleury's left shoulder to tie the game with 86 seconds left in the first period.

However, defenseman Alain Nasreddine put the Penguins back in front, 2-1, with one second remaining in the session with a shot from in front that got past netminder Cristobal Huet's right pad. It was Nasreddine's first tally in 31 career games.

Huet made 31 saves for his fourth victory in five decisions, raising his record to 13-3-3.

"Having a three-goal lead going in the third, we wanted to make sure we handled that game," Huet said. "Especially against those guys. They have so much talent."

Fleury stopped 27 shots for the Penguins, who had their four-game winning streak - in which they scored 24 times - snapped.

"We were very good in the first (period)," Penguins right wing Mark Recchi said. "We skated and they took penalties. They skated in the second and we took penalties, but they took advantage of their chances."

Montreal finished 4-for-7 with the man advantage.

"They have a strong power play," said Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby, who recorded an assist for his league-leading 52nd point. "We knew that going in. We had a plan and we didn't follow it for one period, and that killed us."