The Montreal Canadiens won on Monday evening as they overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period of an NHL road game against the New Jersey Devils. After tying the game late on a goal by Max Pacioretty, Montreal would go on to win in overtime. What resulted was a road win on a night when they had their back-up goaltender in net. The victory saw them add to their slim Atlantic Division lead on a day when Montreal also executed a trade with the Dallas Stars.
The Canadiens acquired Jordie Benn
Arpon Basu, writing at NHL.com on Monday, detailed the trade that Montreal participated in: "Defenseman Jordie Benn was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Dallas Stars for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft on Monday" (February 27).
The move is the second noteworthy one that the Canadiens have made in recent times. Earlier this month Montreal fired Michel Therrien and re-hired Claude Julien.
The Canadien players have yet to respond to the coach firing/hiring with consistent wins night-in and night-out. However, following a win over Toronto this weekend, Montreal have now won two straight. The Habs host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday and they will look for their third-straight win. If they can get it, then it would surely signify that the slump that plagued the team for the last few weeks may very well be history.
Ottawa lost on Monday night
In further positive news on Monday for Montreal their main divisional antagonist, the Ottawa Senators, lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1.
The result sees Montreal increase their lead to four points in the standings. Ottawa do have two games at hand and that is important as the final five weeks of the season approaches. However, it definitely feels like the Habs just turned the page on setting a course in the right direction. They should be tough to catch down the stretch as they look to bring a divisional title home. If Carey Price gets rolling then it will be really tough for Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, or Florida to claim the Atlantic now -- something that seemed a real danger even on Monday morning.
