MTL@DAL: Gurianov goes five-hole on a penalty shot

DALLAS -- Denis Gurianov scored two goals for the Dallas Stars, including on a penalty shot, in a 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at American Airlines Center on Saturday.

"It feels better for the boys, especially when we had a game in Denver yesterday (2-1 win at the Colorado Avalanche) and flew in last night," Gurianov said. "That was a tough game for us because we lost an hour (traveling). It's kind of tough, but I think the boys did a great job."
Ben Bishop made 35 saves, and Alexander Radulov and Miro Heiskanen scored for the Stars (7-8-1), who have won three straight and six of their past seven games (6-1-0).
WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Stars highlights]
Artturi Lehkonen scored for the Canadiens (7-5-2), who had won three straight. Carey Price made 36 saves.
"The real explanation is that I didn't think we had our legs," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "I didn't think we had the energy tonight. There was no fight in the dog. We lost a lot of battles. We had a couple good shifts here or there, but overall we looked like a tired team tonight."
Radulov scored one second into a power play at 15:24 of the first period to give Dallas a 1-0 lead. It was his fourth goal in the past three games.

MTL@DAL: Radulov beats Price's glove for PPG

Gurianov made it 2-0 on the penalty shot with 1:11 remaining in the second after being interfered with by Montreal forward Nick Suzuki on a breakaway.
"To be honest, I didn't think about anything," Gurianov said when asked about the penalty shot. "It was after a long shift, so I was gassed and couldn't even think. I just went there, saw the five-hole, shot there, and scored."
Gurianov scored his second of the game on the power play off a pass from Roope Hintz at 10:43 of the third period for a 3-0 lead. It was his second multigoal game in the NHL (Oct. 6 against Detroit Red Wings).
"[Gurianov] has been stepping up," Stars defenseman Esa Lindell said. "He's got huge speed and he's using it. He's getting chances every game, and now he's burying those. I think when I first got up (to the NHL), it just took time to get used to it and be yourself here. Maybe you're nervous in the first few games, but that's normal. It takes time."
Heiskanen scored an empty-net goal from the right face-off circle in the Dallas zone at 15:08 with Price pulled for an extra attacker to make it 4-0.
"Right through the whole game, they were on it," Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot said. "They were quick, stronger on the puck, stronger in battles, just a sharper team. They were a better team, that's all it was. It wasn't starts or finishes. It was straight through the puck drop right to the end."
Lehkonen scored with 3:42 remaining to make it 4-1.
"You get some nights that no matter what, you just can't seem to find your legs," Julien said. "Our game is based on that. Our game is based on our speed, our execution, how fast we play. We didn't even get close to that."
The Stars went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and allowed five shots while shorthanded.
"Everybody on the penalty kill tonight was huge and was probably the difference in the game," Bishop said. "[Assistant coach Rick Bowness] did a great job of preparing us there, and the guys did a great job of executing."

MTL@DAL: Gurianov converts Hintz's feed for PPG

They said it

"Our power play wasn't good enough tonight, and neither was the penalty kill. The penalty kill gave up two goals, so you can't just blame the power play. It's not just the special teams. Our overall game wasn't good enough, and we know that. We've got to be better, and we will be on Tuesday." -- Canadiens captain Shea Weber
"It says quite a bit. We've won six of seven now, but we're still not at .500. We're going to enjoy the day off and catch up on some NFL or whatever the guys want to do, have a good steak barbecue or whatever they're barbecuing, and then let's get back to work on Monday because we have the Avalanche next." -- Stars coach Jim Montgomery

Need to know

The Canadiens are 10-for-48 on the power play this season. … Lindell led all skaters in time on ice (30:20), setting a new NHL career high. … Stars forward Blake Comeau returned to the lineup after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury. He led the team with four hits in 15:02 of ice time.

What's next

Canadiens: Host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Stars: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-SW, ALT, ESPN+, NHL.TV)

Gurianov, Bishop propel Stars past Canadiens