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Habs top Pens in high-scoring shootout

Feb 28, 2014 - 5:35 AM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - David Desharnais scored in the second round of the shootout to give the Montreal Canadiens a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Daniel Briere had two goals and an assist for the Canadiens, who snapped a five-game skid against the Penguins in the Steel City. Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty and Alexei Emelin also lit the lamp.

"It's a fun way to win a game," said Briere. "I'm sure the coaches won't like that, all the goals scored against, but it's good for us and I know it sounds cliche, but what matters is we get a win."

Peter Budaj stopped 27-of-32 shots in the victory.

Olli Maatta, Brandon Sutter, Sidney Crosby and James Neal each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who played their first game since Feb. 7 due to the Olympic break. Deryk Engelland also scored.

"We worked hard," said Crosby. "It was a little sloppy, a lot of special teams. I think it's tough for everybody to get in the game when you have that many penalties going both ways."

Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 24-of-29 shots for Pittsburgh, which fell to 23-4-2 at home this season.

The Canadiens drew first blood at the 4:57 mark of the first period. Gallagher lit the lamp after the Penguins turned the puck over in their own zone.

Pittsburgh tied the game at 8:23 when Neal snuck a shot past Budaj from the bottom of the left circle.

Engelland gave the Penguins the lead at 15:48 of the first when his shot from the right circle beat Budaj.

Briere made it a 2-2 game at 6:17 of the middle stanza when he scored from the bottom of the right circle.

Pittsburgh went back in front at 10:38 when Maatta's slap shot from the point got past Budaj. The score came with Montreal's Lars Eller in the penalty box for hooking.

Less than a minute later, Pacioretty scored a power-play goal of his own to make it 3-3. His shot from the right circle beat Fleury.

Pittsburgh took the lead back 7:16 into the third frame. Sutter stole the puck from P.K. Subban in the neutral zone before scoring on a shorthanded breakaway.

Just 24 seconds later, Emelin scored on a shot from the point.

Crosby responded with a power-play goal at the 12:29 mark when he put home a rebound off Evgeni Malkin's one-timer from the right circle.

Pittsburgh's Tanner Glass received a game misconduct 19 seconds after Crosby's goal. Briere scored on the ensuing Montreal power play to make it a 5-5 contest.

Fleury made five saves in overtime to send the game into a shootout.

Budaj turned aside Neal, Crosby and Malkin in the shootout to secure the victory.

Game Notes

The Canadiens took two of three from the Penguins this season ... Pittsburgh forwards Taylor Pyatt and Joe Vitale returned to the lineup. Pyatt missed two games with a lower-body injury and Vitale missed 12 games with an upper-body injury ... Montreal goaltender Carey Price was held out with a lower-body injury.