National Hockey League
Montreal 4, Anaheim 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Referees: Marc Joannette, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Jonny Murray, Tony Sericolo
Attendance: 21288

MONTREAL -- The unlikeliest of sources came up big in lifting the Montreal Canadiens to an unexpected win over the high-flying Anaheim Ducks.

Mike Brown, known for his grinding and enforcing abilities, scored a goal and added an assist and rookie defenseman Joel Hanley, playing in his second NHL game, picked up a pair of helpers to help the injury-depleted Canadiens defeat the Ducks 4-3 on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

It was the second career multi-point game for Brown, who earned first star honors for his efforts.

"We knew this was going to be a hard game to play," said Brown, who was picked up on waivers on trade deadline day. "We were never expected to be where we were in the third period so for us it was great to get the two points. I'm happy to be here, I'm happy to play in front of these fans. I've been in this building a lot playing against these guys, and it's nice to be on this side now."

Torrey Mitchell, Alex Galchenyuk and Mike Brown also scored for Montreal (34-34-6), which snapped a two-game losing streak.

Jakob Silfverberg scored twice for Anaheim (40-23-9), who also got a goal from Corey Perry.

Mike Condon made 32 saves while John Gibson stopped 19 shots for the Ducks.

"We didn't play good enough," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When you give up four goals, you're not going to win a lot of games.

"With the guys that scored their goals, everybody on their team got hungry and determined. We knew that was going to be the case. If we let them be in the game long enough, they were going to be a tough opponent. We didn't take advantage in the first period when we should have."

Mitchell opened the scoring at 8:28 of the first period. After Joel Hanley pushed the puck up the left-wing boards, Tomas Plekanec carried it into the Ducks' zone, stopping just inside the blue line before wristing a shot that Mitchell, in a battle with an Anaheim defender, deflected up and past Gibson for his ninth of the season.

Hanley, in his second NHL game, picked up his first NHL point with his assist.

Silfverberg tied it when Ryan Kesler fed him at the Canadiens' blue line and the winger skated into the slot, firing a squeaker through Condon's pads at 14:30.

Perry gave the Ducks their first lead less than two minutes into the second period. Ryan Getzlaf dished off to Cam Fowler at the blue line. The Ducks defenseman skated down to the left circle, sending a quick pass to Perry, who easily put in behind Condon.

With the goal, Perry recorded his sixth 30-goal campaign, tying him with Paul Kariya for second most in franchise history.

Some nifty passing by the Canadiens tied the game at 8:58. A heads-up play by Greg Pateryn at the blue line kept the puck in the zone. The defenseman quickly dished off to Max Pacioretty at the circles and the Montreal captain wasted little time in sending it over to Galchenyuk, uncovered in the circle, for the one-timer.

Brown scored his first in a Montreal uniform to put his team ahead just over a minute later. Hanley got his stick on a Ducks clearing attempt and the puck found its way to Brown in close in the slot.

"It's a pretty cool feeling," said the rookie, who was named the game's third star. "I obviously didn't expect it. The assists were kind of lucky bounces; the first one I didn't even know I got an assist."

Silfverberg's second of the night tied at 11:59 when he picked up Ryan Kesler's rim around the boards and skated into the slot before wristing one glove side past Condon.

"I think I'm getting better scoring chances right now and I think that comes from me moving more out there, skating more and playing with a higher speed," said Silfverberg, who now has six goals in his past five games. "When that happens, the puck comes to you. I think that's a big part of it."

Lessio picked up his first with the Canadiens to restore the lead at 8:13 of the third period. After falling behind the Anaheim net, Brown quickly got back on his feet before sending a short feed to Lessio at the side of the net, with the winger tucking it in for his third career NHL goal.

"We've had a fair amount of chances but we know we've got to contribute," Brown said of his line. "We've been talking about that as a team as well. We can't spend too much time in our d-zone but on the other side, we've got to pop some pucks in. We've been waiting a little bit of time but we finally got a couple tonight and helped the boys win so that was huge for us."

NOTES: Ducks LW David Perron didn't make the trip to Montreal, returning to Anaheim for an MRI after suffering a shoulder injury on Sunday. ... C Mike Santorelli drew back into the lineup after sitting the last three games, appearing in his 400th NHL game. D Clayton Stoner was the Ducks' lone healthy scratch. ... Canadiens D P.K. Subban missed his sixth game with a neck injury but participated in the team's morning skate in a non-contact jersey and could be available for the next game on Thursday in Detroit. ... Montreal RW Sven Andrighetto missed a second game with an upper-body injury.
Top Game Performances
 
Anaheim   Montreal
Jakob Silfverberg 2 Points Mike Brown 2
Jakob Silfverberg 2 Goals Mike Brown 1
Andrew Cogliano 1 Assists Joel Hanley 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
John Gibson .826 Save Percentage Michael Condon .914
John Gibson 19 Saves Michael Condon 32
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Anaheim 35 3 0-2 1-1 7 36
Montreal 23 4 0-1 2-2 9 22
Upcoming Games
  • Montreal will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Canadiens have a W/L % of .515 after a win and .415 after a loss.
  • Anaheim will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Ducks have a W/L % of .561 after a win and .548 after a loss.