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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh's first shutout loss in 119 games was not the number Montreal goalie Jeff Hackett had in mind Wednesday night.
"That big No. 68 wasn't there and that helps," Hackett said after he stopped 24 shots and beat the Penguins 3-0.
|  | | Montreal's Jeff Hackett stops Pittsburgh's Alexei Morozov in the first period. Hackett made 24 saves to shut out the Penguins. |
True, the Penguins were without captain Jaromir Jagr, who remains the NHL's leading scorer despite missing the last six games with leg injuries. Even without Jagr, no one else had shut out the Penguins.
Hackett did well, but the Canadiens played a smothering style that stifled the Penguins and minimized the goalie's workload.
"It was smart hockey," Montreal coach Alain Vigneault said. "We worked hard and we played smart."
Pittsburgh coach Herb Brooks accused his team of just the opposite.
"We made two stupid mistakes in the second period," Brooks said. "Two defensemen caught behind the goal line, peewee mistake. Stupid. We just shot ourselves in the foot. Two stupid plays and we put ourselves behind the 8-ball. It's inexcusable in an important game like this."
The streaking Canadiens ended the Penguins' eight-game home unbeaten streak.
The Penguins had been on a 4-0-4 run on home ice, which included three consecutive ties. Montreal has won four of its last five games and is 11-3 since Feb. 12. The Penguins hadn't lost at home since the Anaheim Mighty Ducks beat them 7-1 on Jan. 29.
The Canadiens have 68 points, the same total as the Penguins, as they move up in the scramble for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
"This wasn't a playoff game, but it had the feeling of one because of what's at stake," Montreal defenseman Eric Weinrich said. "We played it as tight as we could. Granted, they were without Jagr, but we've been without a lot of guys this year, too."
The Penguins hadn't been shut out since Dec. 22, 1998, when they lost 3-0 at home to the Los Angeles Kings.
"We only had four shots in the third period," Pittsburgh forward Matthew Barnaby said. "I don't know if that's lack of effort or things just not clicking. You hope it's the latter."
The Penguins finished the game without their three leading scorers. Jagr is out following surgery for removal of a blood clot from his left leg. He also is recovering from a hamstring injury. The Penguins lost Robert Lang and Alexei Kovalev in the second period.
Lang left the game after he was cut by Patrice Brisebois' high stick less than two minutes into the second. Kovalev went to the locker room with 2:32 left in the period when he was elbowed by Turner Stevenson.
Lang did not accompany the team to Ottawa because he requires X-rays on his mouth. Kovalev did make the trip.
After a scoreless first period, Montreal scored 20 seconds into the second. The Penguins turned the puck over in the defensive zone and Stevenson sent a pass to the front of the net. Trevor Linden deflected the puck for his 11th goal.
Brian Savage made it 2-0 on a goal that started when Craig Rivet beat Kovalev at the blue line during a 4-on-4. Rivet got the puck low on the right wing side and centered to Savage, who got his stick between Hans Jonsson's skates to redirect the pass.
Patrick Poulin scored at 15:25 of the third. He pick up a loose puck in the left circle and fired a shot past Jean-Sebastien Aubin.
Pittsburgh's power play failed on two opportunities in the first period, then wasted a four-minute chance when Lang was injured in the second. The Penguins' power play has scored five goals in its last 57 opportunities.
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NHL Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
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Buffalo 2
Boston 1
Carolina 4
Chicago 1
Montreal 3
Pittsburgh 0
Philadelphia 3
Tampa Bay 2
Vancouver 3
Dallas 3
NY Rangers 4
Anaheim 3
Detroit 1
San Jose 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Craig Rivet feeds Brian Savage in front for the goal.
avi: 439 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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