Cammalleri, Kostitsyn lead Habs past Canes
Carolina Hurricanes at Montreal Canadiens
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The Montreal Canadiens picked up a pair of valuable points in the Eastern Conference playoff race, with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Andrei Kostitsyn deflected in a Roman Hamrlik shot, while on the power play, that proved to be the winning goal. The enigmatic Kostitsyn had a hard-worked assist on Lars Eller's first period goal. Did his trade value just go up? Probably not.
Tomas Plekanec's 20th goal of the season, at 5:13 of the second period, marked the fifth straight season the Habs center has found the back of the net twenty or more times.
Mike Cammalleri had his second goal in three games, since returning from a separated shoulder. He also added an assist, and was named the games first star by the fans.
Called upon to relieve the ill Carey Price, Alex Auld made 27 saves for the win and redeemed himself for Thursday's performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canadiens remain in sixth place inthe conference standings with 73 points. They sit a point back of Northeast Division leading Boston Bruins, who hold three games in hand, including the Saturday late-night game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canadiens will not practice Sunday, and will charter to Atlanta in the morning on trade deadline day (Monday). They will practice there Monday afternoon in preparation for their Tuesday meeting with the Atlanta Thrashers. Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier will travel to Atlanta, and talk to the media on any deals/non deals Monday afternoon.
Scoring Summary
First Period
07:25 CAR Jussi Jokinen- B. Sutter, J. Tlusty
13:38 MON Mike Cammalleri - T. Plekanec
16:53 MON Lars Eller- A. Kostitsyn
Second Period
02:10 CAR Tuomo Ruutu- C. LaRose, J. Samson
05:13 MTL Tomas Plekanec - M. Cammalleri, Roman Hamrlik
10:48 CAR Cory Stillman - J. Skinner, T. Gleason
Third Period
16:07 MTL PPG Anfdei Kostitsyn - R. Hamrlik P.K. Subban
Three Stars:1. Mike Cammalleri 2. Tomas Plekanec 3. Andrei Kostitsyn