Halak Shuts Down Senators As Habs Win 4-1

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jaroslav Halak faced down 45 of the 46 shots the Ottawa Senators sent his way, backstopping the Canadiens to their third straight victory and moving the Habs into a 3rd place tie with the Ottawa Senators in the competitive Northeast Division. Montreal and Ottawa have 32 points, two back of 2nd place Buffalo Sabres and three back of the division leading Boston Bruins. The Toronto Maple Leafs are well off the pace, sitting 7 back of both Ottawa and Montreal.

Halak improved to a 6-4-0 record with the win despite being peppered by the Senators all through the game. Montreal's Michael Cammalleri continued scoring with his 5th goal in his last 3 games, with the left winger netting his 17th of the season late in the 1st period on a 2 on 1 break with Tomas Plekanec and Plekanec sending the puck to Cammalleri who beat Ottawa netminder Brian Elliott stickside with a nice tap-in.

Ottawa's Mike Fisher tied it up 1-1 early in the 2nd with his 13th of the season backhanding the puck over Halak for Ottawa's only goal on the night. Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron restored Montreal's lead with a blast from the point on the power play that best Elliott.

Late in the 3rd, Andrei Kostitsyn was Johnny on the spot, snapping in the rebound off of Bergeron's shot. Plekanec got his 3rd assist on the night on Kostitsyn's goal and leads the Habs with 31 points. Cammalleri is second overall with 27 points.

Montreal center Scott Gomez got an unassisted empty net goal to seal the victory with 1:05 left in regulation.

Both teams play Thursday, with Ottawa heading to Philadelphia, while Montreal is at home to Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.