Monahan's goal, assist lift Flames over Canadiens

[October 10, 2013]  CALGARY, Alberta (AP) -- Rookie forward Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist, and Joey MacDonald made 33 saves in the Calgary Flames' 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Sven Baertschi and Curtis Glencross also scored for Calgary (2-0-2). The last time the Flames earned at least one point in their first four games was in 2009 when they had a 4-0 start.

MacDonald made his third consecutive start. He backstopped Calgary to a 4-3 win at Columbus on Friday and helped the Flames salvage a point in a 5-4 overtime loss at home to Vancouver on Sunday.

P.K. Subban had a goal and an assist for the Canadiens (1-2), who hadn't played since a 4-1 home win over Philadelphia on Saturday. Lars Ellar recorded his fourth goal and sixth point of the season for Montreal. Carey Price made 22 saves.

Both teams were 1 for 3 on the power play.

Despite being outshot 12-4 in the first period, the Flames took a 2-0 lead.

Monahan opened the scoring 9:09 in when he tapped in a rebound behind Price.

Monahan started the play with a behind-the-back pass to Lee Stempniak, who fired a shot that Price stopped with his right blocker. The puck bounced right to Monahan, who drove straight to the net after making the pass.

Baertschi scored his first of the season with 1:27 remaining in the first when he tapped a cross-crease pass from Monahan behind a sprawling Price. Jiri Hudler helped set up the play by jarring the puck loose from defenseman Jarred Tinordi with a big hit behind the net.

Early in the second, MacDonald made a right pad stop on a shot shoveled his way by Danny Briere. At the other end of the ice, Price slid across to turn aside a shot by Glencross.

During a Montreal man advantage, MacDonald stopped Subban's point blast and then stacked his pads to deny back-to-back shots by Andrei Markov.

Glencross put Calgary ahead 3-0 when he tipped a point shot by Dennis Wideman past Price with 3:38 left in the second.

Just 84 seconds later, with Calgary captain Mark Giordano in the penalty box for tripping, Subban fired a point shot into the top corner to make it 3-1.

Ellar pulled Montreal within a goal 10:40 into the third with his fourth goal of the season. Subban let go a shot from the point that went wide, but it bounced off the boards and onto the stick of Ellar, who swatted the puck into a wide-open net.

The Canadiens pressed hard to tie it, but Subban took a cross-checking penalty with 1:49 remaining.

NOTES: Montreal forward Rene Bourque played in his 500th NHL game. Bourque started his career with Chicago and played 183 games with the Blackhawks. He spent 249 games with the Flames and the last 68 with the Canadiens. ... Hudler's next goal will be his 100th in the NHL. ... Stempniak and Hudler have posted at least one point in all four Flames games this season.

[Associated Press]

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