Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty scored 18 seconds apart in the third period to seal the Montreal Canadiens’ fourth straight win, a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Pacioretty added an assist and Brandon Prust also scored for Montreal in the third.
Peter Budaj made 19 saves for his second win of the season and his first shutout in a Canadiens uniform.
Cam Ward stopped 23 shots for Carolina, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped.
The Canadiens had the better opportunities through a fairly uneventful opening 40 minutes, forcing Ward to make big stops on David Desharnais in close and Plekanec on a 2-on-1 with P K Subban coming out of the penalty box.
Prust finally broke the scoreless deadlock 2:06 into the third period. Lars Eller led the rush through the neutral zone before dishing off to Alex Galchenyuk. The Canadiens’ rookie evaded Hurricanes defenceman Bobby Sanguinetti with some slick moves before finding Prust driving to the net.
