VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – Jared McCann scored twice and Ryan Miller made 25 saves as the Vancouver Canucks beat Montreal 5-1 on Tuesday night to hand the Canadiens their first loss of the season.
Montreal (9-1-0) had set an NHL record with nine straight regulation wins to start the year, and was one victory from tying the best start in league history set by the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres.
Luca Sbisa, Radim Vrbata and Derek Dorsett had the other goals for the Canucks (4-2-3), while Brandon Prust added two assists as Vancouver snapped a four-game losing streak and won for the first time on home ice in six tries this season.
Torrey Mitchell replied for the Canadiens, while Carey Price stopped 23 shots.
Just 0-2-2 through the first four games of a five-game homestand, the Canucks had blown leads after 40 minutes in their last two losses and were up in 3-0 before the Canadiens got on the board when Mitchell scored his fourth of the season on a deflection past Miller 2:54 into the third period.
