NHL - Central - Sunday, November 01, 2015

Winnipeg @ Montreal 1-5
Mike Condon made 18 saves, and Tomas Fleischmann had two goals and an assist to help the Canadiens to a 5-1 win against the Jets at Bell Centre. David Desharnais had a goal and two assists, Paul Byron scored a shorthanded goal in a second straight game, and Lars Eller had a power-play goal for the Canadiens, who returned home after losing the first two on their three-game trip to Western Canada. Condon lost a bid for his first NHL shutout when Jets forward Chris Thorburn scored with 6:03 remaining. Condon, who started his second game in a row in place of Carey Price, who is out for a week because of a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old rookie has won his first four games in the League, including Montreal's 6-2 victory at the Calgary Flames on Friday. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it is the most wins by a Canadiens goalie to start his career since Wayne Thomas won his first seven games in 1972-73. It was Condon's first start at Bell Centre, where the Canadiens remained perfect at 5-0-0 for their best start at home since 1979-80, when they won their first six games at the Forum. Eller scored Montreal's fifth goal at 17:51 of the second period against Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who entered the game at 3:02 of the second after Desharnais scored the Canadiens' fourth goal in nine shots against starter Michael Hutchinson. Pavelec made 16 saves for Winnipeg, which had won two in a row, including 3-2 at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Byron scored on a breakaway at 6:34 of the first period, 29 seconds after Montreal captain Max Pacioretty was penalized for high sticking, to make it 1-0. Desharnais drove across the crease past Hutchinson on the play that led to the Canadiens' second goal at 16:26, when Fleischmann tapped in a rebound at the right side of the net. Fleischmann made it 3-0 with his second goal of the game, his fourth of the season, 35 seconds into the second period. Montreal, which set a League record with nine straight regulation wins to start the season, continues a four-game homestand against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. The Canadiens record for consecutive wins at home to begin a season is nine, set from Oct. 8 to Nov. 12, 1953.
Michael Hutchinson: "We just weren't ready. We got behind pretty quick in the game and we just kind of seemed like we were fighting the puck all night and just couldn't get anything going consistently offensively."
Paul Maurice: "I can't tell you if they were really good because we were really bad, or vice versa. We didn't have any jump, and that's it. A far stronger analysis; we weren't very good."
Michel Therrien: "I couldn't ask for more. I think we played an impeccable game. The first game after a long Western trip, I definitely had certain concerns before the game, and the players responded in an extraordinary way. The Desharnais line has been really effective the last two games, as we all know. They push the pace and they skate well, they attack the net. It's nice to see, but you look at all the lines, we've got speed and we use our speed to make sure that we're tough to play against, and we pursue the puck very well."
Mike Condon: "I'm happy to get the win, and that's all that matters in this game.""It was unbelievable. I got to put the red jersey on during preseason, but right now getting a regular-season game, it's a lot louder and a lot more fun, and just the whole energy and a very humbling moment for me."
David Desharnais: "[Condon's] always ready. You can see it in his eyes; he's ready for the challenge and he's been great so far."
Nashville @ Anaheim 2-4
Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists to help the Sucks end their five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win against the Predators at Honda Center. The Predators entered as the only team in the NHL that had not allowed a goal in the first period, but the Ducks needed little more than a minute to get on the scoreboard and were able to pad their lead before the period ended. Rickard Rakell scored his second goal on a backhand shot at 1:11 to put Anaheim up 1-0. Sami Vatanen and Andrew Cogliano then scored 12 seconds apart to give Anaheim a 3-0 lead. Vatanen sent a high slap shot over Nashville goalie Carter Hutton at 11:08 for his second goal. Cogliano scored his first goal of the season when he beat Hutton to the blocker side at 11:20 after the Predators turned over the puck in the neutral zone. The two goals were the fastest for the Ducks since January 19, 2013, when they scored two in 11 seconds against the Vancouver Canucks.
Shea Weber beat Andersen with a slap shot from the point on a 4-on-3 power play in the second period to pull the Predators within two goals. The goal brought to mind the 3-0 lead the Ducks couldn't protect against the Dallas Stars last Tuesday. Boudreau said the Ducks called on that experience in Dallas in the third period. They pushed the Predators out to the perimeter and effectively limited their scoring chances, holding them to eight shots. Stewart scored his first goal with the Ducks at 11:00 of the second period, beating Hutton off the rebound to put Anaheim up 4-1. Calle Jarnkrok cut the deficit to 4-2 at 12:59 of the second. He beat Andersen with a snap shot from the slot for his second goal, but Nashville couldn't get another one past the Anaheim goalie. Nashville coach Peter Laviolette credited Andersen for his performance against what he felt was a good effort from the Predators. Anaheim left wing Jiri Sekac left the game after taking a hit in front of the benches late in the second period. He did not return because of a lower-body injury, the Ducks said. Boudreau had no update following the game.
Peter Laviolette: "Our guys played hard. I've told the guys that I've been in games where the first 10 minutes you're down 3-0 because you forgot to come out of the locker room. That wasn't the case tonight. Our guys played hard from start to finish, and their goaltender played well. They were opportunistic, they came out hungry, and I thought our guys played a hard game for 60 minutes."