Josh Anderson finally scores one as Canadiens outlast Kraken (2024)

On a night when Tanner Pearson scored his first goal in 20 games and Sean Monahan notched his first in 15 contests — and then added a second for good measure — it seemed only fitting Josh Anderson would finally get off the schneid.

Anderson, the Canadiens’ hard-luck power forward, scored his first goal this season in his 25th game — 27 going back to the end of last season — as Montreal outlasted the pesky Seattle Kraken, 4-2, Monday night at the Bell Centre.

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That the insurance goal was scored into an empty net from approximately 180 feet, with 32 seconds remaining in regulation time, mattered little to Anderson or his jubilant teammates — those who were jumping up and down on the bench or those on the ice who mobbed him.

Even goaltender Samuel Montembeault, brilliant on this night as usual, left his crease to congratulate Anderson, the winger’s look of relief apparent when he returned to the bench.

“This is pretty much life or death for me right now,” Anderson said when he finally emerged to address the media following a lengthy delay. “You have other guys coming up. Obviously you want to keep playing well, trying to help your team win. Besides scoring, I’m trying to do everything else … whether it’s drawing penalties or being physical on the forecheck. I’m just trying to do anything to help the team win.”

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But life or death?

“As a player, you can’t really feel comfortable in this league, to be honest with you. I’ve never felt that way. I think it’s important to be yourself, go out there and give 100 per cent. That’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole year, give it my all no matter what. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that you’re here for a reason. You’re trying to do everything you can to help the team win and not worry about points. That was the main focus for me.”

Anderson, 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, had 21 goals in 69 games last season before his campaign ended on March 21 due to a high ankle sprain against Tampa Bay. And he likely would have rivalled the career-high 27 goals he scored in 82 games with Columbus in 2018-19 had he buried some of his numerous opportunities, especially those on breakaways.

He never could have imagined he would go nearly two months this season without scoring, nor that the first one would come into an empty net.

“That’s right,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how.”

Nonetheless, he has contributed in other ways and played like a man possessed last week, against Florida, making his presence felt with five hits while pummelling Jonah Gadjovich late in the third period.

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Anderson had three shots against the Kraken, adding an assist on Monahan’s first goal, slightly more than four minutes following the opening faceoff. Although Anderson was in good position to shoot, he sent a short pass to an open Monahan, who merely had to tip the puck into the open side of the net.

Pearson made it 2-0 early in the second period, converting a rebound past Philipp Grubauer, before Monahan provided Montreal with a three-goal lead seven minutes into the frame, completing a three-way play with the Canadiens on the power play. Monahan now has the team lead in scoring, with eight goals, one more than captain Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Surely a three-goal advantage against the slumping Kraken, who lost their fifth consecutive game — including a fourth straight on this road trip — appeared safe against a team that’s offensively challenged and, like the Canadiens, has been ravaged by injuries. But nothing comes easy for Montreal.

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Jared McCann, with his team-leading 12th goal, took advantage of some tired Canadiens players on a long shift for the visitors’ first goal, 14 minutes into the second period, before defenceman Vince Dunn made things interesting with a power-play blast at 4:49 of the third.

But that’s where Montembeault took over.

Fresh on the heels of his three-year, US$9.45-million contract extension announced last Friday, Montembeault was his usual stellar self, stopping 12 shots in the third period and 31 in the game for a .939 save percentage. He improved his season record to 6-3-1, with a 2.66 average and .913 save percentage.

“We know that’s a team that’s really intense,” Montembeault said. “They come in waves and always work. I think for the most part we did a good job and let me see the puck and cleared rebounds. It was really intense on both sides. I’m happy we came up with the win.”

The Canadiens ended a two-game losing streak and reached .500 again (11-11-3). Montreal hosts Los Angeles Thursday night.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1

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