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  Saturday, Jan. 22 7:00pm ET
Zubrus scores twice on power play
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

MONTREAL (AP) -- Despite being in last place in the Northeast Division, the Montreal Canadiens are a team to be reckoned with.

Eric Weinrich
Matthew Barnaby loses his feet after a hit by Eric Weinrich of the Canadiens.

Dainius Zubrus had two power-play goals and added an assist in the Montreal Canadiens' 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

"We're on a little streak right now," Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault said. "We're becoming a pain to play against 5-on-5. We're not giving away much, playing well on our reads and aren't getting caught in odd-man rushes."

Patrick Poulin and Arron Asham also scored for Montreal, which is unbeaten in a season-high five straight (4-0-1). Shayne Corson added two assists for the Canadiens, who have scored on the power play in 10 of their last 12.

"If you're able to skate, that's when chances are created," Zubrus said. "Arron is skating well and driving to the net and Shayne is feeling a little better physically."

Rob Brown and Jan Hrdina scored for the Penguins, who dropped to 6-17-1 on the road.

"We have to start winning. I don't care if it is home or away," Penguins defenseman Jiri Slegr said. "We're a bad road team and we have to pick it up or else we won't make the playoffs. I'm not going to make any excuses. We just have to play better."

Jose Theodore needed to make just 13 saves against the Penguins, who were without Jaromir Jagr. Jagr is out with an abdominal injury.

"That was a big plus for us that he wasn't playing," Theodore said. "They can still put the puck in the net quickly. They have a talented offensive team. But the guys played so well in front of me tonight."

Zubrus opened the scoring early in the second period when he took a loose puck at the side of the net, spun around and beat Tom Barrasso with a low shot between the legs at 2:42.

The Penguins responded three minutes later as Theodore stopped Hans Jonsson's shot from the point, but couldn't cover up the puck. Brown, in front of the net, put the puck between Theodore's legs for a goal.

Montreal made it 2-1 when Poulin scored on a quick wrist shot off a faceoff.

Zubrus scored his 11th of the season at 18:31 of the second to make it 3-1. While sprawled on the ice, he fired a low shot that deflected off Pittsburgh forward Tom Chorske and past Barrasso.

Asham scored on Zubrus' rebound at 7:09 of the third to make it 4-1. Hrdina scored 40 seconds later to finish the scoring.

"We had no offensive opportunities at all," said Penguins coach Herb Brooks, who returned after serving a two-game suspension for pushing a Colorado Avalanche announcer last week. "But the Canadiens are on top of their game."

The teams combined for only seven shots on goal in the first period, and Montreal outshot Pittsburgh 25-15 overall.

Montreal traded forward Scott Thornton to Dallas earlier in the day for forward Juha Lind. 		 


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RECAPS
Carolina 4
Buffalo 1

Montreal 4
Pittsburgh 2

NY Islanders 2
Tampa Bay 0

Detroit 3
Ottawa 2

Washington 5
Toronto 5

Florida 4
Boston 3

NY Rangers 4
St. Louis 1

Vancouver 3
Edmonton 3

San Jose 4
Anaheim 3