Canadiens skate to victory over Islanders

Canadiens celebrate after scoring a goal to make it 2-0 (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

          The Montreal Canadiens skated into the Nassau Coliseum and left with a 4-2 victory over the New York Islanders, on Thursday night.  
          Max Pacioretty scored his first career hat trick and Scott Gomez scored his first goal in over a calendar year to lead the Canadiens.  
          After Evgeni Nabakov won the game for the Islanders in Philadelphia, making 45 saves, he was not able to stop all of the 31 shots the Canadiens threw at him.  Nabakov finished the game making 28 of 31 saves.  
          The Canadiens got off to a quick start, with Pacioretty scoring his first goal just 1:23 into the game.  There was no goal scored for the rest of the first period.  Montreal  scored again in the second period with Pacioretty connecting on a slap shot 9:30 into the frame.  The Islanders would fall behind by yet another goal when for the first time in over a year Scott Gomez got one by Nabokov at the 10:10 mark in the 3rd period, to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead.  
          The Islanders would show some fight in the final 5 minutes of the game.  They began to get their cycle going in the offensive zone and scored two quick goals against Carey Price.  The first goal was scored by Matt Moulson on the power play, with the second one coming from Mark Streit with 1:53 left in the contest.  The Islanders kept pushing for that game tying goal but would lose steam when Pacioretty hit the back of the empty net at the other end of the ice, completing his hat trick, giving the Canadiens the 4-2 win.  
          Next up the Islanders play a matinee home game against the Los Angeles Kings with the puck drop at 1:00