SUMMARY
Montreal Canadiens players wanted to reassure Saturday evening that the team would not be shaken by its sudden fall against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-3 loss. They kept their word by offering a brilliant performance which allowed them to win by a score of 5-4 in overtime against the New York Rangers on Sunday evening.
In overtime, Patrik Laine redirected a superb pass from Kaiden Guhle into the back of the net during a restart to burst the Bell Center and give his team the victory.
The Habs multiplied the chances to score during 60 minutes of play and the team sometimes showed a lack of opportunism in the face of the prowess of Jonathan Quick, author of 33 saves.
Worse still, the Habs never had the lead in the match, unlike the Rangers who held a one-goal lead on four different occasions in the match.
“There were similarities with yesterday’s match (Saturday), because we were able to generate a lot of chances and their goalkeeper made big saves,” said head coach Martin St-Louis.
But ultimately, the Canadiens showed character and found a way to get two points and save a weekend of two games in 24 hours. In the standings, this victory allowed the Canadians to approach to within a small point of the last team place drafted in the race for the playoffs.
“We shot ourselves in the foot early in the match, but not enough to stay in the game. We continued to do simple actions, which helped us create equality,” he added.
Besides Laine, Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky also scored in the triumph.
With an assist on Slafkovsky’s goal, Lane Hutson extended his streak of games with at least one point to eight. During this sequence, the little defender amassed 12 points.
Alexis Lafreniere, Will Cuylle, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider all found a way to score against goaltender Jakub Dobes. Described as a “gamer” by Slafkovsky this week, Dobes recovered brilliantly in overtime with a spectacular save with his right pad on a move, which eventually allowed Montreal to win.
“I made two good saves in overtime, but you have to give credit to the rest of the team. My teammates were incredible,” said Dobes, who remained undefeated in five NHL starts.
“We didn’t play our best game, but we fought. The guys managed to tie the game each time. I’m really proud of the team,” added the goalkeeper.
The latter allowed more than two goals in a game for the first time in his career, but he still remained perfect with a fifth victory in as many starts in the Bettman circuit.
“The important thing is how you redeem yourself,” said defenseman Arber Xhekaj. I think we played a strong match and their goalkeeper was brilliant. I think we dominated in terms of chances. It’s great to have won. »
The Canadiens will return to action Tuesday night to face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre.
The strength of character of the Habs
-After a stunning blow, Saturday evening at the Bell Centre, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens try to save their honor during a second game in as many days, this time against the disappointing New York Rangers. York.
The Habs quickly got a good chance to open the scoring. Less than two minutes after the start of the match, Alex Newhook recovered a puck deep in Rangers territory and he went alone in front of Jonathan Quick, but the Rangers goalie made a good save with his pad to prevent the attacker Canadians to score.
Deprived of shooting during the first nine minutes of play, the Rangers increased the pace offensively in the second half of the first period and their efforts paid off. A shot from K’Andre Miller missed the target, but the puck returned to the front of the net after a wayward bounce. Quebecer Alexis Lafrenière took advantage of the return to the slot to open the scoring with his 12th goal of the season.
However, the Habs only took a few minutes to respond and bring everyone back to square one. Positioned well in net, Brendan Gallagher ended a nine-game scoreless streak when he redirected a Christian Dvorak shot to tie the game.
The celebrations were, however, very short-lived, 46 seconds to be more exact. Arber Xhekaj tried to clear his territory, but the puck ended up limply on the stick of Will Cuylle. The Rangers forward made Xhekaj pay the price with a good wrist shot that put New York back in control.
Frustration quickly set in for the Canadians as a few moments later, a melee broke out in the neutral zone. Josh Anderson had difficulty leaving with Braden Schneider, who also got up with blood on his face.
The Habs lost the services of their veteran at the start of the second period. Anderson and Arthur Kaliyev made contact, then the Canadiens forward fell to the ground in pain. After a while lying there, he returned to the locker room, unable to put much weight on his legs.
Strongman Matt Rempe delivered several hits to Xhekaj during the first period, clearly looking for a dance partner, and the Canadiens defenseman gave him what he wanted in the middle period. Xhekaj agreed to throw down the gloves and served several good lefts to Rempe, before knocking down the Rangers striker to win his fight unequivocally.
Rempe received an additional minor penalty on the sequence and the Canadiens’ power play made him pay the price. Dvorak took a shot that looked like it was going wide of the net, but the puck deflected off Filip Chytil’s stick in front of the net and ended up behind Quick, allowing Montreal to tie the game at 2- 2.
This crazy match continued midway through the second period and it was the Rangers who regained the upper hand. This time, Mika Zibanejad took advantage of Chris Kreider’s presence in front of the net to score with a good wrist shot and give New York the lead for the third time in the match.
Montreal’s response came from Nick Suzuki with just under five minutes remaining in the second period. The captain caused a turnover in the middle of the opponent’s territory and scored his team’s third goal, thanks to a good wrist shot.
But as had been the case earlier in the meeting, New York wasted no time before calming the bleeding. Just 75 seconds later, Kreider redirected a superb pass from Adam Fox into the back of the net and scored for the third time in five games.
Looking for a goal in the opening minutes of the third period, the Canadians benefited from a numerical advantage. Despite numerous scoring chances, the Habs were unable to hit the target to tie the game.
On volume, the Canadians finally found a way to tie the game for the fourth time in the game. Lane Hutson set up a good shot from Suzuki, then Juraj Slafkovsky pushed the putback past Quick to tie the game 4-4.
Dobes stood out in overtime to steal goals from Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, then Laine ended the game with his 12th goal of the season.
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