Coyotes Get Past Montreal

A new city, new uniforms and the same old Mike Gartner did the trick for the Phoenix Coyotes, a franchise that hadn’t won a game in Montreal in 11 years.

Gartner’s second goal of the game at 1:45 of overtime gave the Coyotes a 5-4 victory over the Canadiens, the franchise’s first in Montreal since 1985 when it was the Winnipeg Jets.

“We were rewarded tonight,” said Gartner, who has the league lead with 10 goals. “We worked through a lot of tough situations. Sometimes you play better than this and you don’t come up with a thing.”

Phoenix not only came up with the victory, but produced its best effort in the third period and overtime.

Gartner tied the score, 2-2, at 3:56 of the second, pushing Jeremy Roenick’s pass by Pat Jablonski. Gartner’s winner was a shot from the right wing and Phoenix’s 40th shot on Jablonski.

The Coyotes entered the third down, 3-2, but took a 4-3 lead on goals from Kris King and Craig Janney.

Mark Recchi, who scored twice for Montreal, sent the game to overtime with 24 seconds left in the third as the Canadiens emptied their net in favor of an extra skater.

“Montreal had us under pressure a lot,” Coyote Coach Don Hay said. “We bent, but we didn’t cave in.”

Colorado 1, Washington 0--Craig Billington, playing in only his second game of the season, made 40 saves at Denver to get his sixth career shutout.

Valeri Kamensky scored less than two minutes into the second period and Billington, whose last shutout came a year ago to the day, made it stand up.

Washington goaltender Olaf Kolzig, also making only his second appearance of the season, made 33 saves to keep the Capitals close.

Colorado right wing Claude Lemieux, who has played only two games this season, will undergo surgery Wednesday in Boston to repair a torn abdominal muscle. He is expected to sit out eight to 12 weeks.