Hammond helps Canadiens defeat Islanders in shootout

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Andrew Hammond won his first NHL start in nearly four years when he made 30 saves for the Montreal Canadiens in a 3-2 shootout victory against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Sunday.

Hammond had not started an NHL game since April 22, 2018, a 5-0 loss with the Colorado Avalanche against the Nashville Predators in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round. The 34-year-old was acquired by Montreal in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 12.
"If I wouldn't have been preparing for this moment over the last four years, and then I get it, I'd be living with a lot of regret," Hammond said. "That's the only way I know how to approach it. If it had never happened, it'd be what it is, but obviously I'm very happy it did.
"The old expression like everything good, you've got to wait for, I'd wait four more years to do it again. It was worth it. I'm very, very happy I got the opportunity."
Hammond got his first NHL regular-season win since April 9, 2016, when he made 39 saves for the Ottawa Senators in a 6-1 win at the Boston Bruins.
Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson scored for the Canadiens (10-33-7), who have won two straight games for the first time this season after going without a win in their previous 10. They are 2-3-0 since Martin St. Louis replaced Dominique Ducharme as coach Feb. 9.
"Fun is part of it," St. Louis said. "You need direction, you need a culture, but inside all that, fun has to be part of it. Winning brings that, but also I think as coaches, you're in the business of convincing your players why you're doing things a certain way. And once you have convinced them, it really takes off."

Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders (18-20-7), who have lost four of five. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.
"I think he played well," New York defenseman Scott Mayfield said of Hammond. "I think there were times where you saw the puck bouncing around in the crease and he's always have a pad on it. … There was a couple of times he just got big and was able to keep it out."
Hammond denied Mathew Barzal and Nelson in the second and third rounds of the shootout after Anthony Beauvillier scored in the first round. Cole Caufield and Rem Pitlick scored for Montreal.
Petry gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 9:01 of the first period on a wrist shot through traffic.
Hammond kept them in front with back-to-back saves against Palmieri (15:22) and Anders Lee (15:24).
"It's not luck that he's back [in the NHL]," St. Louis said. "Of course, there's some unfortunate scenarios why he gets another chance, guys get hurt and it opens a window or a door for him to get an opportunity like that. If he doesn't take care of everything in the last two, three years, he probably doesn't get that opportunity.
"Sometimes people get opportunities and they're not ready for it. For a guy like that, just seeing him the last two, three days, you can see he's a pro. He played like an NHLer tonight. It's such a competitive league, not just [as] a team, but individually. There's so much competition, there's so much talent, and sometimes a lot of guys might just give up. To see a guy just stick with it and to get an opportunity 3 1/2-plus years after his last start in the NHL and play the way he did and give our team a chance to win, it's much respect to him."
Palmieri tied it 1-1 at 1:29 of the second period when he backhanded a rebound of Zach Parise's redirection for his third goal in three games.

Anderson gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead at 18:49 when he took a cross-ice pass from Nick Suzuki and roofed a wrist shot from the edge of the left face-off circle for his 10th goal of the season.
Nelson tied it 2-2 with 2:57 remaining in the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle that got between Hammond's skates.
"I can't put my finger on one thing, but I can say we can right the ship if we get four lines going and our [defense] pairs are all going well and we get goaltending, then you get that confidence, you get that ability to play," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We don't have one line that can carry us, so we need at least three lines every night."
NOTES: Zdeno Chara played his 1,650th NHL game and can tie Chris Chelios for the most by a defenseman when New York visits the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. … The Islanders have allowed the first goal in 11 of their past 12 games. … New York forward Josh Bailey returned after missing one game because of an upper-body injury. He had an assist and one shot in 16:36. … Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom did not play because of an upper-body injury. He is day to day. … The Canadiens were without forward Joel Armia, who sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period of a 3-2 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday and is day to day. He was replaced by Michael Pezzetta, who had one shot in 9:19 of ice time. … Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot had one shot in 23:48 after missing two games with a lower-body injury.