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Latendresse scores two power-play goals for Canadiens

Nov 14, 2006 - 3:22 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Simple mistakes by the Ottawa Senators gave rookie Guillaume Latendresse multiple opportunities to shine.

Latendresse scored a pair of power-play goals in a 31-second span of the third period and Radek Bonk added his third tally to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-3 victory over the Senators.

Montreal's second pick in the 2005 draft, the 19-year-old Latendresse scored his first career goal in last Tuesday's triumph over the Edmonton Oilers. His quick tallies with the man advantage helped the Canadiens defeat the Senators for the second time in three meetings this season.

"I feel real comfortable with my line on the power play," Latendresse said. "We're playing better together and we're getting to the puck better. It's definitely the highlight of my career, but I have to give credit to my linemates who have really taught me a lot."

With Montreal leading, 2-1, in the third session, Latendresse scored his first goal moments after Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchenkov was whistled for slashing.

Captain Saku Koivu made a cross-ice pass to Latendresse, who fired a wrister from the right faceoff circle past goaltender Martin Gerber's left pad at 2:01.

It took just another 28 seconds for Ottawa's Dean McAmmond to find a seat in the penalty box for holding, leading to Latendresse's second tally, a redirection of Sheldon Souray's blast from the right point at 2:32 of the period for a 4-1 lead.

"I knew (Souray) likes to shoot from the point, so I knew I had to get in front of the net," Latendresse said. "Sometimes, I work like a screen, but tonight I was able to tip in the shot and get a goal."

Patrick Eaves halved the deficit for the Senators with a power-play goal at 7:14 of the session with a wrister that beat netminder Cristobal Huet on the glove side. It was his third tally of the season.

"I was on the goal line and (Jason Spezza) was able to draw the defenseman up front," Eaves said. "The other defenseman went to (Dany Heatley) in the slot, so I took it right to the far post and I put it around his pads. We were making a comeback there, but right now wins are tough to come by."

After Antoine Vermette cut the margin to 4-3 by netting his seventh goal on a power play with 6:11 to play, Mike Johnson gave Montreal some breathing room when his slapshot from the left circle got under the crossbar with 2:25 to play.

Defenseman Mike Komisarek and Alexei Kovalev scored goals and Huet made 36 saves to raise his record to 4-2-2 for the Canadiens.

"It's nice to win one on the road," Huet said. "It was a four-point game. We felt fresh and we had nothing to lose. We played way better in the second part of the second and also in the third period."

Not known for his goal-scoring prowess, Komisarek opened the scoring with his second tally of the campaign - a shorthanded goal - with 8:40 left in the first period.

"I know my job is to take the other team off their game and I'm happy with that," Komisarek said. "Being physical tonight helped us win the game."

Denis Hamel netted his third tally and Gerber stopped 26 shots for Ottawa, which has just one win in eight contests.

"It was disappointing and exciting at the same time," Vermette said. "We battled hard to get back and try to tie the game. It's tough to beat Huet when he's playing like that. We need to regroup and work harder as a team. We need to be more effective with our system to win games."