Slafkowski had the 1st 3-pointer of the game as the Canadiens shut out the Ducks

Lucas Dostal made 33 saves for the Ducks (18-32-2), who lost their second straight game after winning three of four.

“They were the faster team,” Anaheim quarterback Cam Fowler said. “They kept us on our heels all night. We took penalties, we gave them the odd player, we gave them all the things that you can't do against a team with a high level of skill and speed. Kudos to them, they did a great job, but we made it more difficult than we needed to.”

“Dex” defenseman Pavel Mintyukov played 16:03 in his first game since January 9 and finished minus-2 with one shot on goal. The 20-year-old rookie, selected No. 10 overall in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, missed 11 games. with split shoulders.

Jake Evans gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 1:43 of the second period with his first goal since Dec. 10 (24 games), a rebound from Dostal's right field.

Suzuki made it 2-0 at 9:37, going to the net to redirect Slafkowski's pass past Dostal from the left side. He extended his goal streak to four games and his point streak to eight (seven goals, seven assists).

“I thought they did a good job of getting pucks out,” Fowler said. “You've got to give them credit, they played a great game and they were really upset about the game they had earlier (Sunday's 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues) and they showed it.”

Suzuki made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 17:00 off a one-time ice pass from Slafkowski's left faceoff circle.

“Beautiful passes. They didn't have to do much,” Suzuki said.