Gallagher, Anderson each has 3 points, Canadiens defeat Jets

WINNIPEG -- Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson each had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens won 5-1 against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday.

“It was nice to get rewarded tonight,” Anderson said. “I thought we’ve been playing some pretty good hockey lately as a line (with Gallagher and Phillip Danault), so getting on the forecheck and trying to create energy for our group -- tonight, they just went in for us. It was nice.”

Sam Montembeault made 36 saves for the Canadiens (32-17-8), who have points in five straight (4-0-1). Noah Dobson had two assists.

“[Montembeault] had a great game,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “I think he was a big part of why we were able to get the result tonight, because early on it could have been worse. We could have dug ourselves in a bigger hole, but I think he allowed us to get going, and once we got going and separated, [it] allowed us to keep it that way. I thought as a team we played an excellent third [period], but I think it starts with some of the stuff that ‘Monty’ was doing, so I'm really happy for him.”

Kyle Connor scored and Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for the Jets (22-26-8), who have lost five of seven (2-3-2).

“Montembeault was good. He played well,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “He made some big stops. The chances ended up being 14-10 for us at 5-on-5. That’s not counting the 6-on-5 stuff at the end. We had a lot of chances and we should-have-could-have. It would have been nice to get out of that first period up 1-0. But at the end of the day, we had enough offense to win that game. Our couple of mistakes went the other way and they capitalized on their [scoring chances].”

Connor made it 1-0 Jets at 6:07 of the first period, scoring on the power play when Gabriel Vilardi set him up with a cross-slot pass for a one-timer from the right circle.

“We obviously jumped out to a lead, and it was a good start,” Connor said. “We didn't take care of our forecheck well enough to cover their D coming up the ice. … Just smarter reads getting pucks through and quickly out of our defensive zone, and just simplifying a bit and almost turned into, hey, we had a lot of great chances too. Their goalie made some good saves, and they capitalize on theirs."

Oliver Kapanen tied it 1-1 at 16:26, collecting the rebound from Dobson’s point shot and putting it behind Hellebuyck.

“It was kind of a little bit of a slow start for us,” Anderson said. “Bad penalty by me, they score, and then I think we started to turn around at the end of the first period and then kind of took over from there. We had a lot of good chances tonight, and obviously Monty made some unbelievable saves. He played really solid for us. So it was a huge game for us knowing that it was the last one before the break.”

Anderson made it 2-1 Canadiens at 5:28 of the second period, with a net-front tip on Jayden Struble’s point shot.

“It felt like a little bit of a slow start, but we kind of found our legs, found our game,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “And probably late in the first [period], we kind of controlled the rest of the game. And that was good, I think from everybody.

“We would be in a big hole to start (without Montembeault). He was sharp right away, saved ourselves from getting a big hole.”

Lane Hutson made it 3-1 at 6:44, taking Anderson’s cross-ice backhand pass and lifting it off the post and over Hellebuyck’s shoulder.

“Some of the guys were saying it was a nice pass by me, but I was like, what a pick-up by him,” Anderson said. “And then for him to go short side like that was sweet. So it was a really nice goal by him.”

Gallagher pushed it to 4-1 on the power play at 10:57 of the third period. Zachary Bolduc’s backhand saucer pass down low found Kirby Dach, who went skate-to-stick to set Gallagher up for a chip-in at the edge of the crease.

“I mean, the good news is we’ve got a lot to work on and we're still finding ways to win,” Hutson said. “So it's encouraging for sure.”

Danault scored short-handed into an empty net at 19:46 for the 5-1 final.

“We knew they're a fast team,” Jets forward Nino Niederreiter said. “So we were focused on playing fast, make sure we get the pucks behind them and make their D turn. I think we did a good job overall, but we couldn't win. We had enough chances to win this game.”

NOTES: Connor’s goal was his 25th of the season, giving him nine consecutive 25-goal seasons. It is the second-longest active streak of 25-goal seasons in the NHL, trailing Auston Matthews (10) of the Toronto Maple Leafs. … The Canadiens are 16-6-7 on the road this season. The only teams with more road wins are the Tampa Bay Lightning (19) and Dallas Stars (18). … Kapanen’s 18th goal of the season ties Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke for the NHL lead among rookies.