Andrew Hammond made 30 saves and two more in the shootout to earn his first win in nearly six years as the visiting Montreal Canadiens posted a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Sunday in Elmont, N.Y.
Hammond was mobbed by his teammates after he made a point-blank stop on Brock Nelson in the third round of the shootout. It was Hammond’s first NHL regular-season appearance since March 28, 2018 for the Colorado Avalanche, and his first NHL win since beating the Boston Bruins for the Ottawa Senators on April 9, 2016.
Cole Caufield and Rem Pitlick scored in the first two rounds of the shootout for Montreal, which won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Defenseman Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson scored in the first two periods for the Canadiens, who were 2:57 away from getting a regulation win.
Kyle Palmieri scored early in the second period on a power play and Nelson netted the tying goal for the Islanders, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games (3-6-1).
Nelson tied the game after getting a lead pass from Kieffer Bellows and outraced Montreal defenseman Brett Kulak through the neutral zone. He stopped in the right faceoff circle and scored his 17th goal when he tucked the puck under Hammond.
Hammond kept the game tied early in overtime when he made a stick save on Jean-Gabriel Pageau on a 2-on-1. After Anthony Beauvillier beat him on a backhand to open the shootout, Hammond made a stick save on Mathew Barzal before denying Nelson.
New York’s Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves as the Islanders allowed the game’s first goal for the 11th time in 12 games.
Montreal went ahead 9:01 into the game when Petry’s blast from the right point sailed by Sorokin. The Islanders tied the game 89 seconds into the second when Palmieri swept the rebound of Zach Parise’s shot under Hammond.
Montreal regained the lead late with 1:11 left in the second when Anderson had ample time to flip a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle over Sorokin’s left shoulder.
–Field Level Media
