Canadiens goaltender Carey Price makes save Friday during Montreal’s 5-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP
TORONTO — Montreal won this playoff game for its absent coach.
Kirk Muller and the rest of the Canadiens just had to dedicate the Game 2 victory to Claude Julien.
“To Claude, I’m sure you’re listening, this win’s for you,” Muller said.
Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each scored twice, Carey Price stopped 30 shots, and the Canadiens rebounded without Julien to rout the Philadelphia Flyers 5-0 on Friday and tie the series at a game apiece.
“We have a job and he would expect that as well,” forward Max Domi said. “So we were just trying to stay focused here and get ready to go. And I think we did a great job of that.”
Julien was home in Montreal a day after a stent was placed in a coronary artery. The team said doctors expect a full recovery.
Julien was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto overnight Wednesday with chest pain. He had surgery Thursday. Because Julien left the NHL bubble in Toronto, he will have to follow quarantine protocol if he wishes to re-enter it. Muller will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
“Claude steers the ship for us and he guides what we do out there,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “We’ll just play as hard as we can for him.”
Game 3 is Sunday night.
The Canadiens roughed up Flyers goalie Carter Hart, who turned 22 on Thursday, scoring four goals through two periods to send him to the bench.
The Canadiens continued their sensational surge through Toronto hockey and bounced back after a 2-1 loss in Game 1. Montreal was the last team in the East to qualify for the expanded playoffs, and then needed just four games to win its best-of-five series over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
AVALANCHE 3, COYOTES 2: Andre Burakovsky scored with 2:53 remaining, Philipp Grubauer stopped 30 shots and Colorado took a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference playoff series in Edmonton, Alberta.
Colorado also got goals from Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Jost.
Arizona responded each time, tying it on a goal by Clayton Keller in the first period and by Michael Grabner in the second.
CANUCKS 4, BLUES 3: Bo Horvat scored on a breakaway at 5:55 of overtime to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference series.
Horvat took a stretch pass from Quinn Hughes and chipped the puck through Jordan Binnington’s legs.
Game 3 of the best-of seven series is Sunday.
St. Louis overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period, with David Perron redirecting in the tying goal with eight seconds left.
ISLANDERS 5, CAPITALS 2: Brock Nelson scored the go-ahead goal on a second-period breakaway just 15 seconds after Washington’s Alex Ovechkin tied it, and New York took a 2-0 lead in the first-round series in Toronto.
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