Dobes makes 27 saves, Canadiens defeat Oilers

MONTREAL -- Jakub Dobes made 27 saves for the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Bell Centre on Sunday.

Dobes made five saves, including a point-blank opportunity by Zach Hyman, when Edmonton had a two-minute 5-on-3 power play after Montreal was called for two minor penalties at 6:04 of the first period.

“I was just trying to think what they could do and they pretty much did what I was thinking to do, and the guys did a good job and we killed it,” Dobes said.

Ivan Demidov, Joe Veleno, Nick Suzuki and Alexandre Texier each scored for the Canadiens (17-11-4), who are 2-0-1 in their past three games. Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson each had two assists.

“(Dobes) was huge for us right from the start on that 5-on-3,” Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson said. “That gave us a lot of momentum and he was the best player on the ice for that kill.”

Hyman had a goal and Calvin Pickard made 23 saves for the Oilers (15-12-6), who ended a five-game point streak (4-0-1) following a 6-3 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

“We didn’t seem to be able to get any sustained offense 5-on-5 and it was mostly one and done,” Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “We couldn’t find any momentum really and they were good with the lead.”

Demidov gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 2:28 of the second period. He took a return pass from Slafkovsky in the right face-off circle and skated in before burying a wrist shot over Pickard’s glove.

Veleno made it 2-0 at 11:58 when he intercepted Connor McDavid’s backhand pass into the slot from behind the goal line and lifted a wrist shot past Pickard from the left hash marks.

Suzuki pushed the lead to 3-0 with a power-play goal at 3:38 of the third period. Slafkovsky fed a backdoor pass from the right circle that Suzuki redirected in at the left edge of the crease.

“They’re a dangerous team,” Pickard said. “They had a lot of wide-open looks and I just have to do my part. It wasn’t our cleanest game.”

Hyman cut the deficit to 3-1 when he scored on a power play at 12:29 of the third, putting in a rebound of Evan Bouchard’s point shot from in front. With the secondary assist, McDavid extended his point streak to six games (16 points; seven goals, nine assists).

Texier put the Canadiens back up 4-1 during a delayed penalty at 13:52 when he skated in on a 2-on-1 and scored blocker side from the left circle.

“I felt that was one of our most complete games,” Montreal forward Jake Evans said. “Just simple plays, you’re up a couple of goals against a really skilled team that will make you pay quickly and everyone chipped in literally. Everyone was chipping pucks in.”

NOTES: Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl had a five-game point streak end (12 points; two goals, 10 assists), and remains one point from becoming the first German-born player to have 1,000 points in the NHL. He had three assists in a 6-3 win at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, bringing his NHL career total to 999 points (416 goals, 583 assists) in 823 games. … Montreal appeared to open the scoring on the power play at 12:06 of the first period, but the goal was initially waved off because Brendan Gallagher kicked the puck into the net. Officials reviewed the play to see if there was a distinct kicking motion, and the call on the ice was upheld. ... Suzuki has six points (one goal, five assists) in a five-game point streak. ... Hutson became the 10th defenseman in NHL history to record three straight multiassist games at age 21 or younger. The only others in the previous 40 years to achieve the feat are Erik Karlsson (four games in 2011-12), Samuel Girard (three games in 2019-20) and Phil Housley (three games in 1985-86).