Tatar propels Canadiens to shootout victory over Canucks

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The dreaded drought is finally over for the Canadiens, although it took 10 games.

Tomas Tater scored on a backhand in the sixth round of the shootout Saturday night, giving Montreal a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre.

But it wasn’t until Nils Hoglander snapped a high shot wide against Carey Price that the Canadiens knew they’d finally won a game beyond regulation time.

Montreal had lost six games in overtime — including Friday night against the Canucks — and another three in shootouts until Tatar ended a statistic that appeared to be taking on its own life.

Nick Suzuki, Tatar, Joel Edmundson and Brendan Gallagher scored for the Canadiens in regulation time, while Jake Virtanen Brock Boeser, Bo Horvat and Tyler Motte replied for Vancouver, which saw its four-game winning streak end.

The Canadiens ended a two-game losing streak with the victory, improving to 14-8-9. More importantly, they moved two points in front of the Canucks for the fourth, and final, playoff spot in the all-Canadian North Division.

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It was the final meeting of the season between the teams.

Vancouver started Braden Holtby in net. He hadn’t played the last eight games and was coming off a March 2 loss at Winnipeg.

The Canadiens were missing Tyler Toffoli, their leading scorer, who sustained a lower-body injury late in Friday’s overtime loss to the Canucks. But Vancouver has been operating without Elias Pettersson of late. He has an upper-body injury and was shifted to the long-term injured reserve list on Friday, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until the end of March.

Pettersson has 10 goals and 21 points through 26 games.

For the second consecutive night, Montreal opened the scoring with an early goal, this time by Suzuki.

The young centre sent Friday night’s game into overtime with a power-play goal in the final minute of the third period, snapping the shot from the right-wing circle. Same thing on Saturday, as he beat Holtby from a similar position, again with Montreal enjoying the man advantage.

Suzuki’s seventh goal this season came at 6:26. He had gone nine games without scoring before Friday night.

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The rest of the period alternated mostly between dull and boring, as the Canadiens held the visitors to only two shots. Indeed, Vancouver went the final 16 1/2 minutes without directing a shot at Carey Price.

Despite the Canucks’ sluggish play, for the second consecutive game they started the second period by scoring on their opening shot.

It began with a poor play by Suzuki behind the net, as he lost the puck. J.T. Miller pounced on it and sent the puck to Virtanen, who completed the bang-bang play at only 22 seconds.

Vancouver took a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal by Boeser at 8:08. He received a pass from Quinn Hughes, beating Price with a one-timer from the left-wing circle.

The Canadiens went almost five minutes without a shot on net to start the period, only to find a spark late.

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Tatar tied the score at 13:44 of the period, his snap-shot from the right-wing circle beating Holtby high to the glove side. It was Tatar’s sixth goal this season, but his first in 12 games.

Montreal took a 3-2 lead on Edmundson’s wrist shot from the blueline at 18:23 that found the net through a number of bodies. It was Edmundson’s second goal this season.

The crazy third period began with the Canucks scoring twice in the opening minute. And once again the visitors, coincidentally, required only 22 seconds.

Suzuki lost the draw to Horvat, who dropped the puck back and immediately went to the front of the net. He then deflected Quinn Hughes’ shot from the blueline for his 14th goal this season.

Vancouver required only 33 more seconds to take its second lead of the game, Motte connecting on a snap shot from the high slot. It was his sixth goal of the year.

But the Canadiens tied the game on Gallagher’s 12th goal of the season at 5:29, after Phillip Danault won the faceoff and dropped the puck to him.

The Canadiens’ six-game homestand continues Monday night, with the first of three games against the Edmonton Oilers.

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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