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Jones blanks Habs; Kings pull off rare Montreal win

Dec 11, 2013 - 4:32 AM Montreal, QC (SportsNetwork.com) - Martin Jones recorded his second consecutive shutout and six different players lit the lamp as Los Angeles pulled off a milestone 6-0 victory against the Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Jones, in only his third NHL start, continued his shutout streak which began in earnest with a 16-save, 3-0 whitewash of the Islanders on Saturday. On Tuesday, he stopped 31 pucks, including a 17-shot barrage in the opening 20 minutes.

"I didn't expect that many shots early. It's a sign of a good team to hold them off," said Jones. "When we were up by six, my team protected me as if it was a one-goal lead so I could get that second straight shutout. I'm just happy with the win but I must say our two-goal lead in the first totally relaxed things."

Jordan Nolan, Anze Kopitar, Alec Martinez, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Muzzin and Justin Williams scored for the Kings, who kicked off their four-game road swing with just their ninth win in Montreal over 46 seasons and first ever by shutout.

LA had dropped five in a row in Quebec's largest city since a 4-2 decision on Dec. 11, 1999.

Carey Price was chased after yielding four goals on 16 shots in almost 25 1/2 minutes. Peter Budaj ended the contest with 12 stops for the Canadiens, whose five-game win streak came to a screeching halt.

Jones made seven saves during a frantic early Montreal power play, and the Habs continued to carry the action until Nolan beat Price on a rebound from the right side with 7:03 gone in the first.

The Habs kept up the pressure on virtually every shift and Jones stood firm, then Kopitar added a one-timer off a Mike Richards dish in the final 13 seconds to make it 2-0.

LA went up by three with 1:45 elapsed in the second, when Price appeared to be interfered with by Kyle Clifford as a Martinez shot zipped past him from the right wing.

Toffoli provided a four-goal bulge for the visitors near the 5 1/2-minute mark and Budaj was rudely greeted on a Kings power play as Muzzin ripped home a shot from the left wing at 8:14.

Williams made it 6-0 with 1:32 left in the second, and, after needing to make three saves in the middle frame, Jones kept his sheet clean with 11 third- period stops.

"There's nothing we can do after a loss like that," mused Habs head coach Michel Therrien. "They're second goal was a case of poor coverage. You have to give that team a lot of credit, but we have to put it aside and start all over again. If we had scored early, it might have been different. We're all disappointed."

Game Notes

The six-goal differential set a Kings record for largest margin of victory in Montreal, eclipsing the previous mark of three in a 6-3 decision on Jan. 19, 1975 ... The Habs and Los Angeles had not met since Dec. 3, 2011, and Tuesday marked LA's first visit to Montreal since Nov. 24, 2010 ... Prior to the contest, the Kings activated defenseman Matt Greene from injured reserve ... Heading into the blowout loss, the Canadiens had allowed two or fewer goals in 13 consecutive home games, one off the franchise record set during the 1967-68 campaign ... Despite the setback, Montreal is 26-4-3 vs. the Kings at home since 1979.