Montreal works OT to take 2-0 lead

RALEIGH, N.C. — Michael Ryder scored 2:32 into the second overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 6-5 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference series.

Chris Higgins chased down the puck behind the net, then centered it to Ryder, who quickly ended the game with a slap shot.

Alex Kovalev and Richard Zednik scored 36 seconds apart in the third period to give Montreal a 5-4 lead, but Cory Stillman forced the extra period with a goal with 90 seconds left in regulation. With goalie Cam Ward on the bench, Bret Hedican sent a pass across the ice to Stillman, who sent a one-timer in off the right post.

Ryder had two goals, and he, Jan Bulis and Radek Bonk all scored in the first period to give Montreal a 3-0 lead, forcing Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette to bench goalie Martin Gerber. Gerber has allowed nine goals on 34 shots in the two games.

Ward, a rookie, took over and played solidly enough to give Carolina the opportunity for a remarkable comeback aided greatly by a couple of penalties on the Canadiens.

First, Matt Cullen got a fortuitous bounce off the skate of Montreal center Mike Ribeiro, and the puck skittered through goalie Cristobal Huet to make it 3-1. Then Rod Brind'Amour cut the margin to a single goal by scoring on the power play, seconds after a 5-on-3 ended.

Doug Weight gave him the pass right in front of the net, and Brind'Amour quickly poked it past Huet. Finally, Ray Whitney and Brind'Amour scored less than a minute apart early in the third period with the Canadiens again short-handed.

Alexander Perezhogin (hooking) and Francis Bouillon (delay of game) gave the Hurricanes another two-man advantage to start the period, and after Whitney's goal, Brind'Amour added another while Bouillon remained in the penalty box.

Whitney was back in the lineup after missing seven straight games with a groin injury. His goal came when he attempted a pass through the crease to Doug Weight, and Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov inadvertently knocked the puck in his own net with his stick.

When Brind'Amour beat Huet with a wraparound, the home team suddenly was ahead 4-3.

Montreal responded with a cruel efficiency. Kovalev, the best player on the ice so far in this series, got his third goal in two games from a sharp angle. His shot was the third in quick succession against Ward, and this one found the top of the net.