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Halak solid as Canadiens blank Senators

Sep 27, 2008 - 2:51 AM MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves and the Kostitsyn brothers combined for two goals and three assists as the Montreal Canadiens cruised to a 5-0 preseason victory over the Ottawa Senators on Friday.

Slated to back up Corey Price this season, Halak turned aside seven shots in the first period, six in the second and eight in the third en route to the shutout.

Halak received all the support he needed early in the second period, when Sergei Kostitsyn converted a pass from brother Andrei at 3:41 for a power-play goal. Matt D'Agostini doubled the lead with 6:54 to go in the session and defenseman Andrei Markov - who added two assists - netted a man-advantage tally 3 1/2 later for a 3-0 bulge.

Defenseman Yannick Weber capped the four-goal outburst in the second with 80 seconds remaining and Andrei Kostitsyn netted his second tally of the preseason during a power play just 24 seconds into the third to complete the scoring.

Alex Auld stopped 25 shots for the Senators, who went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Tensions were high between the Northeast Division rivals as four fights broke out, including two in an eight-second span early in the third period. Montreal defenseman Alex Henry was involved in two scraps, battling Ottawa enforcer Chris Neil late in the second before taking on Brad Isbister in the final session.