San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) moves the puck up the ice between Montreal Canadiens' Mike Hoffman (68) and right wing Joel Armia (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
October 28, 2021 - 10:30 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Jake Allen made 45 saves, Mike Hoffman scored for the third straight game and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Sharks 4-0 Thursday night for their first victory in San Jose in nearly 22 years.
Alexander Romanov and Brendan Gallagher also scored goals as Montreal snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Sharks, who looked rather flat in their first game at home after an encouraging five-game road trip.
The Canadiens’ last road victory against the Sharks before Thursday came on Nov. 23, 1999. They hadn’t beat San Jose in any location since March 2015. Montreal, a Stanley Cup finalist last season, entered the night 1-6 and having been outscored 25-11.
The 31-year-old Allen, serving as the Canadiens’ No. 1 goalie while Carey Price is away from the team for personal reasons, notched his 22nd career shutout.
Adin Hill made 28 saves for San Jose, which went 0 for 4 on the power play and missed a few prime scoring chances in the opener of a five-game homestand. After winning their season opener at home, the Sharks, playing without suspended star forward Evander Kane, went 3-2 on their recent five-game road swing.
Hoffman broke a scoreless tie with a put-back of Brett Kulak’s shot with 7:51 remaining in the first. Montreal increased its lead on Romanov’s one-timer at 8:53 of the second period. A few minutes after that, Gallagher scored a power-play goal when he deposited a pass from Anderson while camped to the left of the net.
Anderson added an empty-net goal with about two minutes remaining to make it 4-0.
NIETO INJURY
The Sharks were without forward Matt Nieto, who is day to day with a lower body injury suffered while blocking a shot Tuesday against Nashville. Nieto notched just one point, on an assist, in San Jose’s first six games.
QUICK START
When Hoffman scored the game’s first goal with 7:51 remaining in the opening period, it marked just the second time in eight games this season that Montreal scored first.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Gallagher’s second-period goal was his first of the season and the 188th of his career. With three more, he’ll tie Saku Koivu for 27th on Montreal’s all-time list.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday in the third game of their four-game West Coast swing.
Sharks: Host Winnipeg on Saturday to continue a five-game homestand.
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