Canadiens come alive in 3rd period, cruise by Sharks

Jake Allen made 37 saves for the visiting Montreal Canadiens in a 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Jesse Ylonen, Kaiden Guhle and Christian Dvorak scored third-period goals for the Canadiens, who have won three of four.

Jacob MacDonald scored his first goal of the season for the Sharks, who have lost six of seven, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 29 saves.

Kahkonen, who recorded his lone shutout of the season in a 4-0 win in Montreal on Nov. 29, stopped 27 straight shots on Tuesday before the Canadiens scored on back-to-back shots on goal midway through the third period.

Guhle, who was playing his first game after missing the past two months with a knee injury, scored on a slap shot that slipped between the pads of Kahkonen to tie the score 1-1 at 8:07 of the third.

Less than two minutes later, Ylonen broke loose on a two-on-one rush with Rem Pitlick, who set up Ylonen for the goal and a 2-1 lead at 9:59.

Dvorak scored into an empty net with five seconds left for the 3-1 final.

MacDonald, a defenseman who was playing in his 12th game since he was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 25 in exchange for forward Matt Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley, gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the first period.

Sharks forward Nick Bonino began the play by poking the puck off the stick of Montreal defenseman Justin Barron behind the Canadiens net. The puck ricocheted around the slot until MacDonald skated in and sent a one-timer past Allen for his first goal since Feb. 27, 2021.

The Sharks were playing their first game since trading leading scorer Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday in exchange for four players and a package of draft picks.

Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson were part of the trade, and the forwards made their debuts for San Jose on Tuesday.

Denis Gurianov made his debut for Montreal after coming over from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov on Sunday.

--Field Level Media

1/3: Feb 28, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Andreas Johnsson (18) shoots the puck against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic (26) and defenseman Jordan Harris (54) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

2/3: Feb 28, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Oskar Lindblom (23) controls the puck along the boards against Montreal Canadiens center Rem Pitlick (32) during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

3/3: Feb 28, 2023; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Fabian Zetterlund (20) checks Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson (8) to the ice during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports