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 Plekanec netted an even-strength goal in the first, when Huet faced only one shot, and added a short-handed tally in the second as the Canadiens won for the sixth time in nine games (6-1-2).
Huet bounced back from a sub-par game for him and his teammates Saturday in a 4-1 road loss to the New York Rangers, when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 28 shots through two periods.
His only blemish against the Islanders came when Richard Park smacked a rebound past him with 9:04 left. Park's first goal in 11 games brought New York within 2-1.
Alex Kovalev's 20th goal, scored into an empty net with 27.5 seconds left, sealed it.
Rick DiPietro stopped 19 shots for the Islanders.
Plekanec scored his first of the night 6:11 in after the Islanders turned over the puck in their zone. New York defenseman Bruno Gervais attempted a pass to Andy Hilbert that was broken up, and the puck came to Plekanec inside the blue line.
The fourth-year forward faked a shot from above the left circle and skated to the center dot, where he sent a drive over DiPietro's shoulder.
Montreal didn't create much more in the opening period, generating nine shots overall, but completely shut down the Islanders' offense.
New York appeared sluggish throughout its first home game since Jan. 3. The Islanders hoped to quickly build on a successful five-game trip (2-1-2) that started with four games out west and concluded with a rare win in Ottawa on Sunday.
Bad weather forced the Islanders to stay in the Canadian capital until Monday, and the Canadiens took advantage of their road-weary opponents.
Josef Vasicek recorded New York's only shot in the first period at 4:19, and the Islanders didn't get another for 18 minutes when Sean Bergenheim forced Huet to make a save 2:23 into the second.
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It appeared the Islanders might be finding their legs as they earned their first power play of the night 1:32 later. Instead of getting even, New York's deficit doubled.
Kovalev checked Islanders defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron hard from behind into the boards deep in the Islanders zone. Soon after, Kovalev gained control of the puck and sent Plekanec on a short-handed 2-on-1 with All-Star defenseman Andrei Markov.
With Markov to his left and Bergeron defending, Plekanec beat DiPietro's glove at 5:35.
Plekanec already has 16 goals in 45 games after posting a career-high 20 last season. The 25-year-old Czech Republic native is enjoying a scoring surge with five goals and six assists in seven games.
Huet had his best stretch midway through the second when the Islanders put a flurry of shots on net. The top scoring chance was a drive by Miroslav Satan that clanked off the right post.
Notes: Plekanec's other multigoal effort this season came Oct. 26, when he scored twice and had a career-high four points at Carolina. ... Islanders D Aaron Johnson was sent to Bridgeport (AHL) on a conditioning assignment. ... New York D Brendan Witt (ankle) missed his second straight game. ... Montreal will finish its four-game trip Thursday at Atlanta.
[Associated Press; By IRA PODELL]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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