Pacioretty makes case to stick with Radulov, Galchenyuk

Michel Therrien and the Montreal Canadiens may have rescued more than just a win on their final stop during an unsuccessful tour through California.

In his first meaningful minutes with leading scorers Alexander Radulov and Alex Galchenyuk, and with speculation about his future again beginning to bubble underneath the surface, captain Max Pacioretty recorded his first multi-goal effort this year and finished with three points in a shootout win Sunday over the Los Angeles Kings.

Pacioretty scored just his sixth of the season with Montreal's first shot on goal, then notched his second on a new-look No. 1 power-play unit in the second period before recording the primary assist on a power-play marker from Radulov, who also had three points.

Before we conclude that saturating the top line with the most talented attacking players on the roster will put Pacioretty back on a direct path to another 30-goal season and snap the entire roster out of its recent goal funk, there are a few things to consider.

First, though they scored at even strength and threatened at times throughout, the possession-dominant Kings more often than not drove the unit back into their own end to defend at five on five. And furthermore, Galchenyuk exited the game in the third period with an undisclosed injury.

Still, an apparent solution that seemed to exist in plain sight helped Pacioretty and the Canadiens make a minor breakthrough at an important time.