Canes lose to Habs in shootout

MONTREAL -- For the Carolina Hurricanes, winning was a one-game thing.

And the Hurricanes, after 10 tries, still are the only team in the NHL without a road victory.

The Canes came ever-so-close Tuesday, but Maxim Lapierre's goal in the sixth round of a shootout gave the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 victory at the Bell Centre.

Canadiens goalie Carey Price made great shootout saves on Bryan Rodney in the fifth round and Matt Cullen in the sixth to finish it off. The Habs (10-11-0) have won eight times in overtime or a shootout this season.

"We played a very solid road game," Canes coach Paul Maurice said. "Real smart."

But Maurice made some interesting moves in the shootout. After Tuomo Ruutu and Jussi Jokinen were stopped, he sent out team captain Rod Brind'Amour, followed by Sergei Samsonov and then Rodney. None could beat Price.

"I was definitely not expecting to go, but I was happy to go," said Rodney, who has not scored an NHL goal. "I was ready to go."

Rodney nearly scored - nearly. So did Cullen. But Price got just enough of the puck.

"Price made some great saves," said Canes goaltender Manny Legace, forced into the game in the second period when starter Michael Leighton was injured.

The Hurricanes, after falling behind 1-0 after the first period, gave Legace a 2-1 lead to work with. Brandon Sutter scored on a well-executed give-and-go with Ray Whitney at 3:28 of the second, and Jokinen scored on a scorching one-timer from the right circle off a setup pass from Matt Cullen at 6:20.

For Sutter, thriving on the top line with Whitney and Erik Cole, it was his second goal in the last two games and his fifth in 11 games. Jokinen also has goals in the last two games - plus the shootout winner Sunday against Minnesota - and picked up his second game-winner of the season.

A high-sticking penalty on the Canadiens' Jaroslav Spacek at 3:01 of overtime - Spacek hitting and cutting defenseman Joe Corvo - put the Canes (3-12-5) on the power play. Carolina fired away at Price, time and again, from the outside and in tight, but Price made every stop to take it to a shootout.

A goal by the Canadiens' Andrei Kostitsyn with 2:46 left in the third period tied the score 2-2 just when it appeared the Canes would grind out a gutsy win in regulation. Kostitsyn circled behind the goal and beat Legace with a backhander.

"A cheesy goal," said Legace, who said the puck glanced off his stick.

Leighton was forced out of the game with a lower-body injury.

Carolina came to the Bell Centre with Eric Staal, Cam Ward, Joni Pitkanen and Scott Walker all back in Raleigh with injuries - another version of being short-handed. Pitkanen and Walker were injured Sunday when the Hurricanes ended a 14-game winless streak with a 5-4 shootout win over the Minnesota Wild at the RBC Center.

Then, Leighton went out.

"We had some key pieces out," Maurice said.

Leighton, who started and won the Minnesota game, allowed a goal on the Canadiens' first shot. But he was moving well and making some nice saves until making a lunging save on a shot by Spacek with 12:48 left in the second.

During the stoppage in play, Leighton quickly headed to the locker room. In came Legace.

"Coming in like that in a tough spot, he did a real good job," Maurice said.

Legace was signed after Ward suffered the leg laceration against Columbus on Nov. 7, and the veteran started his first two games. But Leighton was given the nod for the Minnesota game, then again for the Canadiens after the win.

The Habs pressured Legace during the third. Midway through the period, Legace managed to smother a loose puck with Mike Cammalleri and Ryan White whacking at it.

It was a tough, gritty, close-checking game between two teams that have been struggling early in the season. The Canes had the winless streak that tied the franchise record, and the Habs had lost four of their last six coming into Tuesday's game to fall two games below .500.

The Canadiens, who had scored seven goals in their last five games, lost 2-0 to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, with Price facing 55 shots and tying the franchise record with 53 saves. Price didn't have nearly that much work against the Canes, who had 12 shots in the first two periods but struck twice.

The Canadiens didn't have a shot on goal until 5:41 of the first but made the most of it as Max Pacioretty scored his second of the season for a 1-0 lead.

Pacioretty was to Leighton's left and Leighton shaded him to the shortside post, only to have Pacioretty sling the puck off the top of his blade to the far corner.

The Canes have little time to rest. They face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at the RBC Center, then are home again Saturday for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Win or lose, the games keep on coming.

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