MONTREAL — Quinton Byfield had two goals and an assist, Cam Talbot earned a shutout and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-0 Thursday night for their NHL record 11th road victory to open the season.
The Kings (16-4-3), who eclipsed the mark of 10 straight road wins set by the Buffalo Sabres in 2006-07, are one road win away from matching the NHL record of 12 consecutive road victories at any point during the season.
“Normally we’re downplaying achievements, talking about getting to the next game, but I think that we have to acknowledge the group has played really well,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought we played a little bit of playoff-type hockey.
“Down the stretch we blocked shots, we managed the clock, we played pucks into areas when we had to, made pretty smart decisions.”
Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist and Trevor Moore also scored for Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar had three assists and Talbot made 24 saves.
Samuel Montembeault stopped 38 shots and became the first Canadiens goalie to start consecutive games since Jake Allen on Oct. 21 and 23.
Byfield continued his breakout season after a slow start to his career. The second overall pick in 2020 has eight goals and 13 assists through 23 games this season.
“The confidence is there right now,” Byfield explained as to why has found a rhythm in his fourth season.
McLellan gave credit where it was due.
“I keep giving credit to his linemates and stuff that have pulled him along, but a lot of it came from him, too, and he’s done an outstanding job,” McLellan said. “He looked like a dominant player. Not just tonight, but in a lot of games so far this year.”
The Kings went 1-for-1 on the power play, while the Canadiens failed to score on three man-advantage situations.
Montreal was shut out by Los Angeles for the second time this season. The Kings earned a 4-0 win in Los Angeles on Nov. 25.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com