Montreal Canadiens' Jaroslav Halak Shuts Out Red Hot Vancouver Canucks, 3-0

A matter of days after Jaroslav Halak was given a chance to be the starter in Montreal, he made a strong case to remain the starter, posting his first shutout this season, en route to a 3-0 victory over the Canucks. 

Rewind to the day before, when Carbonneau said he would ride Halak as long as he keeps winning, well so far so good for the 23 year old. 

Halak, who couldn't stop a beach ball the last time these teams met, had a complete transformation, and was by far, the reason Montreal was able to win this one. 

In total, Halak stopped 34 shots—many of them outstanding.

"I'm not looking at what's in the newspapers, I'm just trying to focus on the game," the 23-year-old Halak said. "It's just nice to win two in a row. It's been a while."

Throughout the game, the Canucks looked like they would run away with this one, as they dominated early and often but Halak was impeccable.  The game was very intense; you would have never known Darcy Hordichuk was away for the birth of his child. 

Half way through the first, the Canucks were given a golden opportunity to break it open.

With Kovalev and Plekanec in the box, the Canucks had a full two minutes of five on three.  But, the 15th ranked Canucks power play could not produce, with Halak holding the fort and getting help when Bieksa hit the post. 

The great kill had an immediate impact for the Habs, when Plekanec, just out of the box, took a breakaway pass and fired it past Luongo, giving the Habs the lead late in the first.  Despite the tough break, Vancouver kept the pressure on starting the second as they were camped put in front of Halak's crease. 

He stoned Pavol Demitra on a breakaway, among many big saves in the period.  The Habs had much fewer chances but were unfortunate to not go 2-0 up, when Alex Kovalev hit the post on a breakaway. 

At 13:27 in the period, Alex Burrows was given a match penalty for cross checking Patrice Brisebois in the face.  The Habs made the most of the opportunity, when Andrei Markov scored on the five minute power play to put the Habs up 2-0. 

Much of the same happened in the third.

Vancouver, once again, dominated—out-shooting the Habs 13-4 with Halak making a dazzling glove save on Kessler. An even better save was made by Brisebois to maintain the lead. 

It was clear that this was not their day, as they threw everything but the kitchen sink at Halak and he was impeccable all night long. 

Maxime Lapierre iced the game into an empty net to give the Habs their first victory over the Canucks in their last 11 games against them. 

Following the game, Mats Sundin, who heard his share of boos through the contest, summed this game up best for Vancouver.

"I thought we played a good game, to be honest," added Canucks veteran Mats Sundin, whose team capped a four-game road trip. "We've been on the road for almost 10 days and we came out with that kind of effort. But it was all missed opportunities tonight."

The loss was only Vancouver's second in their last 10 games, as they return home from a four game road trip that has seen Vancouver climb from the playoff basement into fifth place in the Western conference. 

With the win, Montreal moves to 73 points on the season—two back of the Flyers for fourth in the East.  Meanwhile the Canucks lose some ground but remain in fifth place with 68 points on the season. 

The Canucks now return home for a Friday night matchup against Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier, and the Tampa Bay Lightning.