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Monday, Mar. 6 7:30pm ET
LInden set up tying goal, scores winner | |||||
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MONTREAL (AP) -- Trevor Linden drew inspiration from Brian Savage's return and helped the Montreal Canadiens' playoff hopes in the process. Linden set up the tying goal, and scored the winning goal with just under five minutes left as Montreal beat the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 on Monday night. Linden, who scored just 44 seconds after setting up Eric Weinrich's tying goal, tapped the rebound of Martin Rucinsky's shot past Thrashers goalie Norm Maracle with 4:47 left. "It was great to get the winner," Linden said. "The guys played hard and it was a tough game to play." Savage didn't score, but took a regular shift and played 10:23 in his return to the lineup after missing the 44 games with a serious on-ice neck injury last November. "There were a lot of emotions in the dressing room before the game," Savage said. "All the guys were giving me the high five to welcome me back." Savage, who led Montreal with 12 goals in 21 games at the time of the injury, suffered three broken vertebrae as the result of an open-ice collision with the Kings' Ian Laperriere in a 5-3 win Nov. 20 at Los Angeles. "I'm just happy it's over and we made a good comeback," Savage said. Montreal has won 10 of 13 -- including three of its last four -- to move into ninth place in the Eastern Conference. "If we get in the playoffs, we could be a sleeper," Savage said. Shayne Corson put a wrist shot past Maracle at 2:00 of the first to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. Corson was left alone at the edge of the crease and took Saku Koivu's pass from behind the net. Guolla tied it just under five minutes later, at 6:42, with his eighth goal. Galanov scored an unassisted goal at 6:59 of the third to give the Thrashers a 2-1 lead before Weinrich took a pass from Linden and beat Maracle on a shot from the point to tie it at 2 at 14:19. Atlanta coach Curt Fraser said Maracle, who stopped 35 shots, played well in the loss. "He played a very strong game," Fraser said. "Down to five minutes with a lead in Montreal is a pretty good accomplishment for us, but we should have been able to close it off." Atlanta lost its sixth straight and fell to 12-47-6-4, the worst record in the NHL. The Thrashers have just one win in their last 23 games. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Atlanta Clubhouse Montreal Clubhouse RECAPS Ottawa 5 Boston 1
Montreal 3
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