@Dennis:
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Montreal vs. Carolina 1:1
Theodore makes 45 saves in Habs' Game 2 win
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Jose Theodore will be seeing pucks in his sleep.
The Montreal Canadiens goaltender stopped 45 shots and Saku Koivu had a goal and an assist as the Canadiens held off the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Sunday night to even the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals at one game apiece.
"It'll be a good day (Monday) to relax and rest up," said Theodore, who has now faced 84 shots in two games.
The win by Montreal snapped Carolina's four-game home playoff winning streak and was in sharp contrast to its 2-0 opening loss. In Game 1, the Hurricanes were more scrappy and outhit the Canadiens.
Montreal was still outshot 46-16 Sunday, but the Canadiens were able to solve goalie Kevin Weekes for two first-period goals -- one on a great hustle play by Koivu -- to get a jump on Carolina and quiet its rowdy crowd.
The Canadiens then rode Theodore the rest of the way.
"Obviously we needed 56 shots," a frustrated Sami Kapanen said.
Bill Lindsay sealed it with an empty-net goal with 1:11 left, firing the puck nearly the length of the ice.
"It's a lot easier to play with the lead," said Theodore, who faced 38 shots in Game 1. "But the Hurricanes made a statement that they're going to be ready to play every night. They played even better than the first night."
Weekes had two straight shutouts and a goals against average of 0.90 in the playoffs entering the game, but couldn't come up big for a fourth straight game since taking over for Arturs Irbe in the New Jersey series.
Game 3 will be played at the Molson Centre on Tuesday night.
"Our team feels comfortable, especially on the road, where we've had a lot of success," Carolina captain Ron Francis said. "Nothing is easy this time of year, but we'll regroup and get ready for our best game in Game 3."
Doug Gilmour's 60th career playoff goal on the power play 1:03 into the second gave the Canadiens a three-goal lead before Rod Brind'Amour's goal with 6.8 seconds left in the period drew the Hurricanes within 3-1 on a two-man advantage.
Erik Cole poked the puck past Theodore 1:33 into the third, but it clearly came after the whistle and was waved off by referee Mick McGeough. Carolina had several good scoring chances minutes later, but Kevyn Adams missed an open net short-handed and Theodore shut down Carolina's power play.
"We were very well prepared to play seven games in our first series (against New Jersey) and we're very well prepared to play seven games again," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "It's not a big shock by any means in the room that Montreal won a game."
Carolina played without Jeff O'Neill, the team's top goal scorer the last two seasons. O'Neill was suspended for one game following his hit from behind in the series opener on Montreal's Sheldon Souray. Souray sustained a left shoulder injury but returned to his regular spot on defense in Game 2.
Weekes had a franchise-record scoreless streak that spanned 143 minutes and 55 seconds before allowing a bad goal 7:25 into the first to give Montreal some confidence.
Weekes got in front of what appeared to be a harmless shot from Sergei Berezin from the top of the circle. But just like early in Game 1, Weekes had problems with his rebounds. The puck dropped at his pads, and the Carolina defense relaxed.
It was all the window that Koivu needed as he dug the puck out and flipped it past Weekes.
"I had it smothered and I had it smothered long enough to where there usually is a whistle," Weekes said. "As soon as I popped my head up it squirted loose and Saku was right there. It was a heck of a play by him.
"It was definitely big because goals are tough to come by at this time of the year," Weekes added. "For them to get that lead early it certainly buoyed their confidence a little bit. This is something I have to learn from next time. I have to stay patient and wait for the referee to blow the whistle."
Koivu set up Montreal's second goal when he drew four Carolina players toward him as he skated down the right wing, then fired a cross-ice pass to a streaking Andrei Markov, who had joined the rush from his defensive position.
Markov made one move to get Weekes out of position and then backhanded the puck into an open side as he fell to the ice for his first career postseason goal.
"We needed that (first) goal and we needed a good first period," Koivu said. "It was a good thing that we were able to get two goals -- it gets our confidence back that we can still score."
Game notes
Koivu's two-point night was his fourth multipoint game of the playoffs. ... Top Montreal D Patrice Brisebois skated for the first time in six days Saturday but still couldn't go in Game 2 with lingering back pain. ... Ron Francis extended his point streak to four games with an assist on the Brind'Amour goal. ... Montreal was 1-for-16 on the power play in road playoff games before Gilmour's goal.
von:
ESPN.com
Mats
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