Canadiens 5 - 2 Kings
Final
  for this game

Canadiens look to jump back into first vs. lowly Kings

Mar 8, 2008 - 11:48 AM Montreal (37-22-9) at Los Angeles (27-37-5) 4:00 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- In a back-and-forth battle for supremacy in the Eastern Conference, the puck is in the Montreal Canadiens' zone.

The Canadiens can jump back into the top spot in the East with a win and some help as they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Montreal is tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (38-24-7) with 83 points, one behind the New Jersey Devils (39-23-6), who posted a 2-1 overtime victory over Tampa Bay on Friday to claim the lead in the conference. The race likely will go down to the final days of the season, with the Ottawa Senators (37-25-7) in the mix as well.

The Canadiens have won four of their last five contests, including a 4-2 triumph at Phoenix on Thursday. The team has not missed a beat since trading away former No. 1 goaltender Cristobal Huet at the February 26 deadline.

Rookie Carey Price has stepped in and performed well, allowing two goals or less in each of the club's last four wins. He stopped 37 shots against the Coyotes on Thursday.

Montreal ranks second in the East in goals this season, with Alexei Kovalev leading the team with 72 points. Kovalev has collected nine assists in the last four games, while Tomas Plekanec has six goals over the same span.

The Kings have been toiling in last place in the Western Conference all season and are 1-3-2 in their last seven contests.

Los Angeles snapped a five-game winless streak on Thursday with a 2-0 victory over Ottawa. Rookie Erik Ersberg stopped 40 shots to post his career win - and shutout - in his fourth NHL game.








  • NHL
    FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
    --- --- --- -----
    MONTREAL 0 3 2 5
    LOS ANGELES 0 1 1 2 FINAL
    GOAL SCORING:
    1ST PRD: NONE
    2ND PRD: MON - PATRICE BRISEBOIS 3 (UNASSISTED) 5:09
    MON - (PP) SAKU KOIVU 14 (MARK STREIT, ANDREI MARKOV) 7:40
    MON - GUILLAUME LATENDRESSE 15 (SERGEI KOSTITSYN, JOSH
    GORGES) 12:43
    LOS - (PP) ROB BLAKE 7 (MIKE C

    Mar 8 6:37 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 5
    LOS ANGELES 2
    3RD PRD: MON - (EN) TOM KOSTOPOULOS 5 (GUILLAUME LATENDRESSE, ROMAN
    HAMRLIK) 18:07

    Canadiens 5, Kings 2  3rd - 1:53Mar 8 6:32 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 4
    LOS ANGELES 2
    3RD PRD: LOS - ANZE KOPITAR 29 (PATRICK O'SULLIVAN) 6:29

    Canadiens 4, Kings 2  3rd - 13:31Mar 8 6:10 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 4
    LOS ANGELES 1
    3RD PRD: MON - ANDREI KOSTITSYN 21 (TOMAS PLEKANEC, ROMAN HAMRLIK)
    3:49

    Canadiens 4, Kings 1  3rd - 16:11Mar 8 6:07 PM


  • NHL
    END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
    --- --- --- -----
    MONTREAL 0 3 3
    LOS ANGELES 0 1 1 END OF THE 2ND
    GOAL SCORING:
    1ST PRD: NONE
    2ND PRD: MON - PATRICE BRISEBOIS 3 (UNASSISTED) 5:09
    MON - (PP) SAKU KOIVU 14 (MARK STREIT, ANDREI MARKOV) 7:40
    MON - GUILLAUME LATENDRESSE 15 (SERGEI KOSTITSYN, JOSH
    GORGES) 12:43
    LOS - (PP) ROB BL

    Mar 8 6:00 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 3
    LOS ANGELES 1 1:25 LEFT, 2ND PRD

    Canadiens 3, Kings 1  2nd - 1:25Mar 8 5:39 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 3
    LOS ANGELES 0
    2ND PRD: MON - GUILLAUME LATENDRESSE 15 (SERGEI KOSTITSYN, JOSH
    GORGES) 12:43

    Canadiens 3, Kings 0  2nd - 7:17Mar 8 5:33 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 2
    LOS ANGELES 0
    2ND PRD: MON - (PP) SAKU KOIVU 14 (MARK STREIT, ANDREI MARKOV) 7:40

    Canadiens 2, Kings 0  2nd - 12:20Mar 8 5:20 PM


  • NHL
    MONTREAL 1
    LOS ANGELES 0
    2ND PRD: MON - PATRICE BRISEBOIS 3 (UNASSISTED) 5:09

    Canadiens 1, Kings 0  2nd - 14:51Mar 8 5:16 PM


  • NHL
    END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
    --- --- --- -----
    MONTREAL 0 0
    LOS ANGELES 0 0 END OF THE 1ST
    GOAL SCORING:
    1ST PRD: NONE
    SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
    --- --- --- -----
    MON 10 10
    LOS 10 10
    GOALIES: MON - JAROSLAV HALAK
    LOS - ERIK ERSBERG

    Mar 8 4:46 PM

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