Allen, Canadiens defeat Oilers to sweep two-game set

EDMONTON -- Jake Allen made 25 saves to win his Montreal Canadiens debut, 3-1 against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Monday.

Alexander Romanov scored his first NHL goal for the Canadiens (2-0-1), who defeated the Oilers 5-1 on Saturday in the first of a two-game set in Edmonton.
"I was really looking forward to playing my first game with the Canadiens logo on my chest," said Allen, who was acquired by Montreal in a trade from the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 2 and signed a two-year contract extension Oct. 14. "To get a win is huge. The guys played great these two games, and we'll carry it over to Vancouver."
The Canadiens, who will play three games in four nights at the Vancouver Canucks beginning Wednesday, went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill Monday.

Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves for the Oilers (1-3-0) in his fourth consecutive start to begin the season with goalie Mike Smith on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
Devin Shore scored shorthanded late in the third period for his first goal with Edmonton.
"I thought we actually came out and played a decent first period," Oilers center Kyle Turris said. "We had energy, we were getting pucks deep and getting after them. I thought we came out and played real well. And then in the second period, we just kind of stepped back and let them take it to us, which we obviously can't let happen."
Romanov gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 9:54 of the first period on a shot from the point through traffic. It was the defenseman's third NHL game.
"I was so excited, I had no words," Romanov said. "It was just amazing."
Shea Weber made it 2-0 with a power-play goal with 11 seconds remaining in the second period. He got to his own rebound and banked the puck in off Koskinen from behind the net.

The goal was waved off for goaltender interference because Jeff Petry was ruled to have pushed Shore into Koskinen, but Canadiens coach Claude Julien challenged, and the call was overturned after video review.
"You're always a little nervous, there are no guarantees whether you're going to win that or not," Julien said. "Had we lost that, we were starting more or less the third period shorthanded … We could be ahead 2-0 or we could start the third period up 1-0 and having to kill 1:50 of an Edmonton power play. There was a bit of a risk, but I really felt confident that we can win this challenge."
Artturi Lehkonen scored shorthanded on a 2-on-1 at 12:15 of the third period to make it 3-0.
Edmonton had the No. 1 power play in the NHL last season but was 0-for-10 in the two games against Montreal.
"We were moving it around pretty well and getting some good looks, but when teams are pressuring you like that and things aren't clicking, maybe we need to shoot the puck more, get rebounds and create chaos," Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. "... It was one of those games that was frustrating. The power play had tons of looks and just couldn't find one."
Shore scored shorthanded at 17:51 to make it 3-1, stripping Jonathan Drouin of the puck at the Canadiens blue line and scoring on a breakaway.
"We were more competitive, but I'd still like to see our puck game improve," Edmonton coach Dave Tippett said. "Competitive is what we're looking for. To defend better, you've got to be competitive first, then you've got to be able to move the puck. We were better on the competitive end of it."

Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who finished first and second in the NHL in points last season, were held to one point combined in the two games. McDavid had an assist in the loss Saturday.
"When we came here, we knew the only chance we had of winning here in Edmonton was to make sure those guys were not an impact on the game," Julien said. "We didn't necessarily decide to sit on top of those guys, but we did a good job of getting on them quick, getting some good angles, and getting in their way and slowing them down. They had some great chances on those power plays, and our goaltender came up big, so there's a lot of things as a team we did well against them, and the reason we're coming out of here with four points is that we're really able to nullify their one-two punch that can win games for them."