By Canadian Press

Drouin, Scherbak help lift Canadiens in 3-1 victory over Islanders

Feb 28, 2018 | 6:30 PM

MONTREAL — Even with Carey Price out with a concussion, the Montreal Canadiens are getting stellar goaltending.

Veteran backup Antti Niemi made 27 saves, including three on shorthanded breakaways by the New York Islanders in the first period, to lift Montreal to a 3-1 victory on Wednesday night.

That followed AHL call-up Charie Lindgren’s 33-save effort in a 1-0 shootout loss to Philadelphia on Monday. 

“I felt overall really good in practice and games for the last little while now and I’ll try to keep it going,” said Niemi, who is 4-1-1 in his last six starts.

Price, a Vezina and Hart trophy winner and 2014 Olympic gold medallist, has been out since taking a shot on the mask during a 3-2 overtime loss in Philadelphia on Feb. 20. Niemi and Lindgren have gone 2-0-2 in his absence, allowing only six goals between them.

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Jonathan Drouin and Nikita Scherbak scored in the second period while Paul Byron scored in the first for the Canadiens (24-29-10), who are 2-0-3 in their last five outings.

Mathew Barzal scored his 18th of the season for the sinking Islanders (29-28-7), who are winless in their last four games and 4-8-2 in their last 14.

Shots were 28-26 in New York’s favour, with Niemi out-duelling former Canadien Jaroslav Halak.

“I need to be better for the guys right now,” said Halak. “We need every point.

“That second goal shouldn’t go in. We had some chances on our side, we just didn’t hit the net or they blocked shots. We need to find a way. It starts with me.”

It’s been an interesting season for Niemi, once a solid starter who backstopped Chicago to a Stanley Cup in 2010 and then played five seasons for San Jose and two more for Dallas.

He began this season in Pittsburgh, where he went 0-3 with a miserable 7.49 goals-against average. Then he moved to Florida, where he lost two more with a 5.11 average.

When Price’s backup Al Montoya suffered a concussion in November, the Canadiens claimed Niemi off waivers. Reunited with his former goalie coach from Chicago, Stephane Waite, the Finn looks to have rediscovered his game. So much so that Montoya was traded to Edmonton on Jan. 4 when he returned from his injury.

“It was tough early in the season but it’s been great, playing better now and getting a couple of wins,” said Niemi. “I feel really good being here right now and playing better.”

Coach Claude Julien said Price will not accompany the team to New York for a rematch with the Islanders on Friday night, but may join them at some point on their six-game road trip.

In the meantime, Niemi and Lindgren are both making a strong case to take the backup job next season, when Price begins his eight-year US$84 million contract extension. 

“It’ll make the decision tougher at the end of the year,” Julien said.

Niemi allowed the game’s first goal at the 3:50 mark when Barzal blew past rookie defenceman Noah Juulsen and went in alone to score on a deke to the backhand.

But when Brendon Davidson went off for slashing at 7:23, he faced three more breakaways from the Islanders’ penalty killers, including two from Casey Cizikas, and stopped them all.

“They scored on a breakaway earlier so I just wanted to be able to get those,” said Niemi. “It’s different when they come from all the way at the other end, so I had more time to come out and match their speed.

“We were losing 1-0. It got me right into the game for sure.”

Drouin stole a puck at the Islanders’ blue line and slipped it to Artturi Lehkonen behind the net for a feed to Byron in the slot and a shot to the top corner past Halak.

Drouin moved into the left circle to take a feed from Jeff Petry and put a shot inside the far post on a power play 8:29 into the second period.

Scherbak trailed in on a play and saw his one-timer of a Brendan Gallagher pass trickle through Halak’s pads for his second goal in 10 games this season.

Newly acquired defenceman Mike Reilly made his Canadiens debut and forward Byron Froese played his 100th NHL game.

The Islanders used their two trade deadline acquisitions — defenceman Davidson and forward Chris Wagner.

Bill Beacon, The Canadian Press