Canadiens Beat Kings, Gain First Place, 5-3

Brian Skrudland set up Bob Gainey’s winning goal in the third period and then added an insurance goal himself to help the Montreal Canadiens defeat the Kings, 5-3, Saturday night.

The victory moved Montreal (26-22-7) into first place in the Adams Division, one point ahead of the Hartford Whalers.

Skrudland outmuscled two King defenders and set up Gainey in front for the winning goal at 6:04 and later pounced on his own rebound before beating King goalie Roland Melanson for the insurance goal at 12:12.

Bobby Smith, Dave Maley and Chris Chelios also scored for Montreal. Jimmy Fox scored two goals and Marcel Dionne one for the Kings (22-23-6), who had lost only one of their previous seven games.

Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy was outstanding over the final two periods, using his quick glove hand to rob the Kings of several excellent scoring chances.

“Our job is to stop the other team’s big line, but we should score goals as well,” said Gainey, talking about his line, which is known mostly for its defense.

“All three of us know how to put the puck in the net.”

Gainey’s goal was his sixth of the season.

“The coach (Jean Perron) has been stressing that we’ve got to go to the net to score,” Skrudland said.

“That’s what happened on our third-period goals, and I’m sure you’ll see a lot more of that.”