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Lang, Halak lift Canadiens past Flames

Dec 10, 2008 - 4:25 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Robert Lang scored two goals for the first time in nearly a year and Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves Tuesday to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.

Matt D'Agostini and defenseman Andrei Markov also tallied and Alexei Kovalev and Alex Tanguay each notched two assists for the Canadiens, who improved to 4-0-1 over their last five contests.

"I think game by game, I'm getting more comfortable out there with my linemates," said D'Agostini, who has scored in four straight games.

Dustin Boyd netted the lone goal and Miikka Kiprusoff turned aside 27 shots for the Flames, who had won five of their previous six.

"They played really well tonight. Their skills really showed, and our power play didn't get us a goal when we needed one and we just weren't able to get any momentum going," Calgary's David Moss said. "It was one of those games where they had a lot of momentum and we just couldn't break it."

Lang opened the scoring 3:41 into the contest, taking a pass from Kovalev and skating down the left wing. He cut to the net and fired an off-angle backhander that sneaked past Kiprusoff.

With the Canadiens holding a 2-1 edge, Lang doubled the advantage with his 10th goal of the season. He accepted a pass from Tanguay in front of the net and made a quick turnaround wrist shot that beat the outstretched pad of Kiprusoff with 4:42 left in the second period.

"It seemed like the whole team was sharp," Lang said. "For our line, we clicked well, seemed like we finally scored on some of our chances. It's always fun when you have the puck a lot and you play well."

Halak made the most of his first appearance of the month, allowing just Boyd's goal at 6:32 of the second period that cut Calgary's deficit to 2-1. It was Halak's first win since October 20.

"It's a big relief for me to get the win. It's been a while," Halak said. "They were shooting a lot in the first period, so I got in the game. When you get a lot of shots early, sometimes you get warmed up, and that was the case tonight."

"(Halak) played a very solid game for them," Flames coach Mike Keenan said. "We had a lot of early chances and he had a consistent game throughout. Very, very solid in net for them. He was probably the difference-maker."

D'Agostini gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead at 4:17 of the second, when he blocked Calgary blue-liner Adam Pardy's shot for a breakaway and beat Kiprusoff with a backhander. But the two-goal edge was short-lived, as Boyd scored less than 2 1/2 minutes later.

Markov sealed the victory when his slap shot beat Kiprusoff between the pads with 8:54 remaining in the contest. Lang assisted on the goal for his third point of the night.

"They're a skilled team and a quick team. They took away our defensive-zone coverage completely," Keenan said. "They played the trap well and then countered with rushes and then looked for puck action after that."

It was not all good news for Montreal, however, as left wing Chris Higgins and defenseman Mathieu Dandenault both left the contest with injuries.

Higgins, who appeared to hurt his hand, will undergo an MRI on Wednesday. Dandenault will be out of the lineup for several weeks with a broken left arm.