Tatar, Kotkaniemi, Price fuel Canadiens past Flyers

Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each scored twice and goaltender Carey Price stopped all 30 shots he faced Friday as the Montreal Canadiens breezed to a 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers to even their Eastern Conference first-round series at one victory apiece.

It was Price's seventh career playoff shutout and second in this postseason. He turned aside all 22 shots he faced in Montreal's series-clinching 2-0 win over Pittsburgh in the qualifying round.

Joel Armia also scored and Max Domi had three assists for the Canadiens.

Philadelphia goaltender Carter Hart allowed four goals on 26 shots before leaving in the second period. Brian Elliott relieved Hart and stopped five of six attempts.

The Flyers had won their first four games this postseason, including all three of their round-robin contests.

The Canadiens played without coach Claude Julien, who was hospitalized with chest pains after Game 1. He had a stent surgically placed in his coronary artery and returned home to Montreal. Associate coach Kirk Muller ran the bench.

Philadelphia center Travis Konecny exited the contest during the third period after blocking a shot off his left foot.

Tatar picked up his first point of the postseason 1:02 into the first period when he was left uncovered in the low slot. Brendan Gallagher shoveled a backhander toward the net from a sharp angle, and Tatar pounced on the rebound and slammed it past Hart's left skate.

Hart's stick got knocked away before Domi, from the left wall, threw the puck toward a crowd in front of the net. Jonathan Drouin got off a shot, and Kotkaniemi scored on the rebound at 12:36 of the first to make it 2-0.

Tatar struck again at 1:25 of the second period. During a power play, he used Philadelphia defenseman Justin Braun as a screen to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead.

The Flyers shortly thereafter had a five-on-three power-play for 1:38 but could not score.

At 17:57 of the second, Armia pushed it to 4-0. He curled away from Braun in the left circle before his shot deflected off the skate of the Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and past Hart.

Kotkaniemi added a power-play goal at 10:35 of the third period on a rising shot from the right hashmarks for a 5-0 lead.

--Field Level Media