Jonathan Drouin scored the only goal in a shootout, and the host Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Thursday to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin each contributed a goal in regulation for the Canadiens, who ended an 0-6-1 skid and earned just their second victory in 11 games.
Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau made 37 saves and stopped all three Philadelphia attempts in the shootout.
Max Willman and Jackson Cates scored one goal apiece for the Flyers, who had won three in a row immediately after an 0-8-2 stretch.
Flyers goaltender Carter Hart stopped 38 shots.
Less than two hours before the game, the Canadiens announced that no fans would be allowed in the arena because of rising COVID-19 cases.
The Canadiens went ahead 1-0 at 5:20 of the first period when Lehkonen fired a shot past Philadelphia defenseman Keith Yandle and through Hart.
Montreal was dominant in the first period, producing a 19-8 edge in shots.
Hart kept the Flyers close with 18 saves, including several stellar stops in the final few minutes.
The Flyers tied the game at 1 when Willman notched his second goal of the season at 2:20 of the second period. Willman gathered a loose puck in front and scored.
The Canadiens soon controlled the offensive tempo with strong scoring chances by Lehkonen and Kale Clague.
Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead when Cates recorded his first career goal with 59.3 seconds left in the second. Cates was appearing in his fifth game.
Drouin fired a shot that appeared to deflect off the throat of Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov at 5:08 of the third period. Provorov stayed down on the ice for several minutes before skating to the bench on his own.
Willman nearly scored his second goal of the game at 8:40, but Primeau slid over in the crease and made a nifty save.
The Canadiens equalized at 14:21 when Dauphin connected for his first goal since Dec. 10, 2016.
Neither team was able to score in overtime despite good chances from each side.
–Field Level Media
