MONTREAL (AP) Nick Suzuki had two goals and an assist and the Montreal Canadiens cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night.
The red-hot Suzuki extended his point streak to a career-high eight games - producing 13 points in that span - and is up to 51 points in 53 outings this season.
Cayden Primeau faced little action, making 13 saves in his first start since Jan. 20 as Montreal earned its first shutout of the season.
āI really wasnāt tested much,ā Primeau said. āItās just all credit to them (teammates).ā
Juraj Slafkovsky, who connected with Suzuki all night, had a goal and two assists for the first three-point game of his career. Jake Evans and Brandon Gignac - with his first NHL goal - also scored for the Canadiens.
It was a standout performance for Montrealās trio of Suzuki, Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield.
āItās encouraging, theyāre finding consistency, itās hard not to be excited about that,ā head coach Martin St. Louis said. āItās fun to watch, not just the result, itās how theyāre playing together thatās exciting for me.ā
The Canadiensā top players made the Ducks pay on the power play, going 2 for 6 on the night.
āTerrible,ā Anaheim defenseman Cam Fowler said. āThatās all I got for you.ā
Lukas Dostal stopped 33 shots for Anaheim, which was shut out for the sixth time this season.
Evans scored first 1:43 into the second period with his third goal of the season and first in 25 games, beating Dostal with a backhand after a give-and-go play with Tanner Pearson.
Suzuki doubled the lead at 9:37 to extend his streak. Slafkovsky patiently skated around Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov on the break before laying a pinpoint pass to Suzuki, who tipped it in.
The two forwards connected again later in the period, this time on the power play, as Suzuki hammered home a cross-ice pass from Suzuki into an open cage to make it 3-0 with three minutes left in the period.
āItās Nick,ā Slafkovsky said. āYou never know when it comes right on your tape and you just have to put it in. I mean, Nick is a great player.ā
In full control, the Canadiens led the shots by a 29-9 margin after 40 minutes.
āYou can deal with wins and losses, but when you go out there and perform like that as a team, thatās when you have to start looking in the mirror,ā Fowler said. āThey did a great job, they played hard. We didnāt, and thatās why you see a result like that.ā
Montreal added another power-play marker at 7:26 of the third. This time, Suzuki fed Slafkovsky for his 11th of the season.
Gignac, 26, scored his first goal on a 2-on-0 to make it 5-0 with under three minutes left as Montreal won the game handily - but not before tempers flared as players on both teams dropped the gloves in the final minutes.
UP NEXT
Ducks: At Ottawa on Thursday night.
Canadiens: At New York Rangers on Thursday night.
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