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Lehtonen, Thrashers stop Canadiens

Mar 8, 2009 - 8:24 PM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Kari Lehtonen made 25 saves to record his second shutout of the season, lifting the Atlanta Thrashers to a 2-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Friday.

Bryan Little scored late in the first period and Rich Peverley added an empty-net goal as the Thrashers won their second straight game over the Candiens.

Lehtonen stopped eight shots in the first period, five in the second and 12 in the third to post his 13th career shutout.

The Canadiens, who are in the middle of a tightly packed Eastern Conference fighting for a playoff berth, dropped their second straight game following a four-game winning streak.

Little's goal came with Atlanta on the power play with 2:32 remaining in the opening session and Lehtonen made sure the tally would stand.

After a lackluster first two periods against one of the East's worst teams, Montreal turned up the pressure in the third but could not beat the Finnish goaltender.

Tomas Plekanec had a pair of point-blank chances with less than 2:30 left to go in the third, but Lehtonen made a couple of spectacular saves with his right pad to clinch the win.

The Canadiens stand alone in fifth place with 75 points, but five teams are within two points of them in the standings.

Montreal, which dropped to 2-11-1 in its last 14 road games, concludes a three-game road trip at Dallas Sunday before finishing the season with 11 of its final 16 games at home.