Blake gets 3 points, Hurricanes defeat Canadiens 

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Jackson Blake had a goal and two assists for the Carolina Hurricanes in a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Lenovo Center on Friday.

Taylor Hall scored in his 900th NHL game, and Frederik Andersen made 14 saves for the Hurricanes (44-24-4), who have won 10 of their past 12 games. Seth Jarvis had two assists.

“Another tight game, kind of how we want to play,” Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said. “I don’t think we gave them too much, and this time we were able to score those key goals and take over the game.”

Carolina remains in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 92 points, nine ahead of the New Jersey Devils, who are in third.

Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (33-30-9), who have lost five in a row (0-3-2). Sam Montembeault made 22 saves.

“We were able to manage their pressure,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “We’ve been in this building before, and obviously we haven’t had the result here. But I still felt it was better than in the past. It just wasn’t good enough.”

The Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers each have 75 points, six behind the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has played 71 games, Montreal 72 games and the Rangers 73 games.

Montreal will play at the Florida Panthers on Sunday to complete a four-game road trip before hosting the Panthers on Tuesday.

“You can’t dwell on it,” Canadiens forward Cole Caufield said. “To say we would be in this position at the start of the year, we’d grab it. Every game matters, every game counts.”

Montreal took a 1-0 lead at 23 seconds of the first period. The Canadiens won a battle along the right boards before Brendan Gallagher passed to Anderson alone between the circles for a one-timer.

The Hurricanes tied it 1-1 at 41 seconds. Jaccob Slavin’s shot from the left point deflected off Blake’s skate, then off the skates of Montreal forward Nick Suzuki before slipping through Montembeault’s five-hole. The goal was Blake’s first in 23 games.

“I thought I was playing the right way, for the most part, the last 20 games,” Blake said. “So it feels good to get rewarded a little bit there. We’re getting a lot of Grade-A’s, a lot of good opportunities. I didn’t lose my confidence or anything like that.”

The 21-year-old rookie has 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 72 games.

“You knew it was just a matter of time," Carolina coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I think there’s still a lot more coming. Every night, he’s around it. Again tonight, and there’s a bounce for him. Maybe that will propel him a little forward."

Hall one-timed a pass from Blake at the left hash marks for a power-play goal that gave Carolina a 2-1 lead at 13:46 of the second period. The 33-year-old has seven goals in his past eight games.

“Nine hundred games, now that I’m getting up there, it’s special to do that with these guys,” Hall said. “I’m having a blast. It was a cool night for me.”

Aho pushed the lead to 3-1 when he finished a saucer pass from Jarvis on a 2-on-1.

Andrei Svechnikov, who returned to the lineup after missing the past seven games with an upper-body injury, scored an empty-net goal with 1:00 remaining for the 4-1 final.

NOTES: Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle had four hits and three blocked shots in 19:07 in his return to the lineup after missing 21 games with a quad injury. … Carolina defenseman Brent Burns played in his 915th consecutive game to establish the fourth-longest consecutive games streak in the NHL. (Phil Kessel, 1,064; Keith Yandle, 989; Doug Jarvis, 964; Garry Unger, 914). … Hall has a power-play goal in three straight games. … The Hurricanes are 17-2-1 in their past 20 games against the Canadiens.