Another big victory for CH

Another big victory for CH
Another big victory for CH

The Canadian seized the eighth and final place giving access to the playoffs in the Eastern Conference thanks to a 3-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at the Bell Centre.

• Also read: Bruins hold on to playoffs

• Also read: WATCH: Jack Eichel misses the inevitable

Jake Evans, who had slowed down lately after an extremely productive streak at the end of the year, scored the winning goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation after a great effort from Joel Armia.

It was the Lightning who struck first. Anthony Cirelli, taking advantage of a lack of concentration from Kaiden Guhle in front of Samuel Montembeault’s goal, handed the puck to Nikita Kucherov who asked for no less to score.

The second period was more successful for the local favorites, who scored two goals in 1:49 to tie the score when Juraj Slafkovsky and Alex Newhook shook the strings.

The local favorites will also owe a debt to Montembeault, who made many difficult saves to keep his club in the match. He finished his night of work with 31 saves.

With this victory, the CH therefore has 52 points in the bank, the same total as the Ottawa Senators, seventh in the East, and the Boston Bruins, ninth. He is also within one point of the Lightning, third in the Atlantic section.

Furthermore, the Canadian played with fire during the first half of the match, once again showing indiscipline by receiving four minor penalties. Fortunately for Martin St-Louis’ men, the Lightning, who were the fourth best team in the National Hockey League in power play, were unable to take advantage of their four opportunities with a man advantage.

Fear for Guhle

At the start of the third period, Guhle retired to the bench in pain after a shock to his left arm a few seconds after a throw-in. However, more fear than harm for him, because he resumed his place with ‘Alexandre Carrier a few appearances later.

The Habs will be back in action on Thursday, when they visit the Red Wings in Detroit.

THIRD PERIOD

8:00 p.m. – The CH resists enemy attacks, notably thanks to David Savard.

17:44 (TB 2 MTL 3) – What a big goal from Jake Evans! He accepts Joel Armia’s pass to take a one-timer that hits the upper part of the net.

16:17 – The CH is messing up in its zone and Montembeault still has to get up. He frustrates the pugnacious Guentzel and Eyssimont in the enclave. The Quebecer is clearly more solid than last Saturday.

14:39 – Several good shoulder shots, including that of Arber Xhekaj on Geekie, spice up the action which gains in intensity. Vasilevskiy remains little used, but the Canadian gets a little closer to his net. After the commercial break, Montembeault says no to Kucherov.

7:17 – The CH hang on, but have to deal with the insistence of Michael Eyssimont near his net. So far, it’s 27-15 for the visitors in terms of shots.

5:38 – Montembeault begins to write down part of the meeting. He closes the door to Luke Glendening and Guentzel to preserve equality. Shortly after, Guhle accidentally collided with Josh Anderson and retreated painfully to the bench. However, he returned to the ice after very painful moments.

2:21 – Both teams exchange scoring chances early. Brandon Hagel cannot take advantage of Montembeault at his mercy, while Slafkovsky slips in front of the enemy goalkeeper without successfully completing his maneuver.

0:00 – Start of period

SECOND PERIOD

19:52 – Gallagher gets away with it late in the period. He makes a juicy turnaround and Point gets a golden chance. He beats Montembeault, but not the net post.

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12:55 – Martin St-Louis’ men love danger. Brendan Gallagher lands in the penalty box due to another high stick punishment. However, the National League’s fourth massive attack failed again.

11:54 – Things are heating up in CH territory. Matheson and Lane Hutson spend almost two minutes on the ice while Guentzel and his trio make life difficult for the Habs. But the score remains the same. Speaking of Hutson, he tied a mark for a first-year CH defenseman by registering an assist in a ninth straight game.

7:21 (TB 2 MTL 2) – Lately, CH likes to come from behind and they have achieved the feat again. Newhook unleashes a powerful one-timer to tie the game. We can say that the Habs have started to play for real.

5:32 (TB 2 MTL 1)The Canadian gets a chance to get back into the game, courtesy of Geekie who tripped Dvorak. And Juraj Slafkovsky seizes the opportunity. He surprises Vasilveskiy with a shot from a tight angle, who will be angry.

2:45 (TB 2 MTL 0) – The Lightning are unable to capitalize on a third power play. Except that shortly after, Guentzel hits the target while everyone lets him run in front of Montembeault following a lost faceoff in the CH zone.

0:00 – Start of the period.

FIRST PERIOD

18:12 – It’s Dach’s 24th birthday and Nick Perbix celebrates by hitting him with a stick that’s too high. The numerical advantage ends with a very bad punishment from Christian Dvorak, author of a tripped leg with five seconds to go.

15:25 – Lane Hutson hits Jake Guentzel with a stick too high. It doesn’t get any better for the Canadian. Fortunately for his teammates, Montembeault stood in front of Brayden Point on two occasions.

14:20 (TB 1 MTL 0) – Kaiden Guhle looks very bad when he is unable to grab a puck near him. Cirelli takes advantage and spots Kucherov who easily beats the goalkeeper.

13:10 – A beautiful goalkeeper duel seems to be on the horizon. Montembeault shines in front of Conor Geekie at a time when the Habs defense was being beaten.

8:43 – Mike Matheson stops Kucherov from skating down the boards and delivers a power play to the visitors. The CH escapes unscathed, but Samuel Montembeault can thank the post which received Anthony Cirelli’s strike.

7:41 – Before the first commercial break of the evening, the Canadian takes his first official shot when Kirby Dach is literally robbed by the goalkeeper who advanced in front of him, after a nice climb from Alex Newhook.

4:26 – A very long sequence without stoppage of play marks the start of the confrontation. Nikita Kucherov and his cronies buzz in the CH zone, while at the other end of the ice, Mike Matheson’s point shot hits the post to the left of Andrei Vasilevskiy.

0:00 – Start of the match

In the mix

The Canadian (23-19-4) amassed a total of 50 points, only two points less than the Bruins (23-19-6), the team that currently has the last ticket to the playoffs in the East .

The Boston team and the Blue Jackets (22-18-7, 51 points) are not in action on Tuesday, which leaves plenty of room for CH.

The Lightning (25-17-3, 53 points) will play a second game in as many evenings. The day before, he lost 5 to 3 against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. As it was Jonas Johansson who kept the goals in the Queen City, the Bolts trusted Andrei Vasilevskiy for the duel against the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.

The Canadian experienced the joy of victory in his last outing, in addition to having won six of the nine matches he has played since the start of January.

We will once again have to watch defenseman Lane Hutson, who has collected at least one point in his last eight games. During his happy streak, the young sensation collected 12 points.

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