Zegras has lacrosse-style goal in Ducks win against Canadiens

Trevor Zegras scored twice, including the fourth lacrosse-style goal in NHL history, and the Anaheim Ducks held on for a 5-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday.

The forward skated from the right wing boards behind the net, lifted the puck onto his stick and stuffed it past the right shoulder of goalie Sam Montembeault.
"I looked to see if I could make a play to somebody in the slot, and once I realized that I had a little bit of space I figured I'd just try it," Zegras said. "So, I don't know, kind of lucky."
Troy Terry had a goal and two assists, Cam Fowler had a goal and an assist, and Anthony Stolarz made 36 saves for Anaheim (22-16-8).
Zegras' highlight goal gave the Ducks a 4-1 lead 1:25 into the second period.
"If you're a fan and you're sitting from afar, you're probably thinking, 'Oh, this is the greatest thing,'" Ducks assistant coach Mike Stothers said. "And as you probably saw the reaction from our team and on the bench when [Zegras] scored that goal, the lacrosse goal, it was one of shock, amazement, and then there were some like myself that showed no expression whatsoever because you know what? There's a game to be played and we need to continue to play it the right way.
"We let Montreal back into the game. You always worry about things like that. There's a right way to bring it home and we're still working on that."

Jake Evans scored twice for the Canadiens (8-27-7), who were playing their first home game since Dec. 16, a 3-2 shootout win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Montreal is 1-6-4 in its past 11 and plays its next seven games at home.
"It's been a tough year," Evans said. "You definitely want to build on what you did well, and the team showed a lot of character and heart tonight. And whether it was 4-1, 5-2, the team wasn't quitting and we all believed in each other, and a couple of bounces here and there and it might be a different game."
Cayden Primeau allowed three goals on nine shots before being replaced to start of the second period by Montembeault, who made 13 saves on 15 shots on goal.
Montreal forward Laurent Dauphin scored on a penalty shot at 14:02 of the third period to cut it to 5-4.
"I think if you look back at the game, it didn't go so smooth in how we want it," Ducks forward Adam Henrique said. "We have to be able to shut that game down."
Sam Carrick scored on a breakaway to put Anaheim up 1-0 at 8:14 of the first period.
Dauphin was given a four-minute penalty at 13:17 for high-sticking Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf, who sustained an upper-body injury and did not return. There was no update on his condition after the game.
On the power play, Fowler made it 2-0 at 15:12 when he one-timed a pass from Terry, and Terry scored on a one-timer from the left face-off dot on a pass from Fowler for a 3-0 lead at 17:06. Kevin Shattenkirk had an assist on each goal.
"We lost our captain for the rest of the game, so that's a little bit disappointing and discouraging," Stothers said. "But I guess the bright side is we did manage to take advantage of that."

Evans made it 3-1 at 1:15 of the second period.
Zegras extended the lead 10 seconds later. He had a lacrosse-style assist on a goal by Sonny Milano against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 7.
"You've just got to give him credit for trying that move," Evans said. "You know, it's a good goal, and it's obviously tough to defend, so a lot of credit to him."
Artturi Lehkonen made it 4-2 at 9:54 with his first power-play goal since March 13, 2018. Zegras put the Ducks ahead 5-2 on a shot from the top of the circles at 14:04.
Evans made it 5-3 at 1:24 of the third period.
NOTES:The Ducks are 18-6-4 when scoring first. The Canadiens are 2-22-4 when they allow the first goal. … Zegras is the third Ducks rookie to have at least three multigoal games in a season (Bobby Ryan, five in 2008-09; Dustin Penner, three in 2006-07). … Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes scored the first two lacrosse-style goals in the NHL (against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 29, 2019, and at the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 19, 2019). Filip Forsberg scored the third on Jan. 14, 2020, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. … Montembeault missed the prior two games with an upper-body injury.