• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Ruutu helps Hurricanes jolt Canadiens

Dec 22, 2008 - 4:07 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Tuomo Ruutu scored 1:43 into overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes recorded a 3-2 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

Eric Staal recorded a goal and two assists and former Canadien Sergei Samsonov scored and set up a tally for Carolina, which improved to 3-1-0 in its last four games.

"There's something about this building, playing this team that brings out the best in a lot of guys in our room," Staal said. "It's fun trying to quiet down 21,000-plus and score some goals. It was a huge win for our team. We came to compete, we came to skate and it was a solid effort."

"We played well throughout the entire game," said Samsonov, who was booed by the Bell Centre faithful. "It's nice to take the two points home. It's a big road game and we're in a battle for a playoff spot, so we need to pick up some points."

Cam Ward turned aside 26 shots for the Hurricanes.

Rookie Matt D'Agostini and Robert Lang scored and Alex Tanguay notched two assists for Montreal, which saw its modest two-game winning streak come to an end.

After missing his team's last six games with the flu and a lower body injury, Carey Price finished with 24 saves for the Canadiens.

"I felt a bit rusty at the start, but as the game went on, I started to feel a little bit more comfortable," Price said. "Even toward the end, I didn't feel the same way I did before the injury. I only had one (practice) skate with the team, so it's kind of hard to jump right back into it."

In overtime, Staal wristed a shot from the slot which trickled past Price and toward the goal line. Ruutu alertly located the puck and tapped it into the goal before he was sent crashing into the net as well.

"The guy had time in the slot and he made good on it," Price said of Staal.

Staal gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead with 5:08 remaining in the second period.

With Carolina on a 5-on-3 power play, Samsonov wristed a cross-crease past to Staal, who beat Price for his 14th goal of the season.

Guillaume Latendresse looked to have leveled the contest midway through the third period, but officials ruled that Carolina's Matt Cullen committed a slashing penalty. Therefore after Ward made the initial stop to gain possession of the puck, the officials blew the whistle as Latendresse tapped the rebound into the net.

"You could sit there and blame the referees, but at the end of the day you still got to battle through it and work hard for 60 minutes," defenseman Mike Komisarek said. "You can't get too frustrated or focus on the refs and yapping at them because it isn't going to accomplish much."

Lang leveled the contest after unleashing a slap shot from the left faceoff circle past Ward for his 11th goal of the season.