SUMMARY
Despite reinforcements, the Canadian came up against one of the NHL’s hottest teams after arriving late at night.
Jason Robertson shook the strings in the shootout and the Dallas Stars defeated the Montreal team 2-1 on Saturday evening at the Bell Centre.
The Stars thus won a seventh game in a row. They also slowed down the Habs’ winning streak to three, who suffered only a third defeat in 12 games (9-2-1).
During the shootout, Robertson beat goaltender Samuel Montembeault on the glove side. In front of the Stars net, Jake Oettinger was perfect.
“I liked our match. We didn’t have any passengers, said the Canadian’s head coach, Martin St-Louis. All the guys were involved. We played a mature match in a context of two matches in as many evenings. We may not have had our legs at the start of the match, but we did enough good things to deserve the two points. We didn’t get them, but we still got a big point. »
Patrik Laine, on the power play, scored for the Canadian (20-18-4). Montembeault stopped 34 shots.
Laine (flu symptoms) and defenseman David Savard (upper body) were back in the Habs lineup after both missing the last four games. Jayden Struble and Michael Pezzetta were left out.
“It’s never fun to miss games. I was happy to be back, Laine said. I felt pretty good. I think I played a pretty decent match. »
Jamie Benn scored in regulation for the Stars (27-13-1). Oettinger made 30 saves.
In addition, Laine was honored before the game as the Canadian’s Molson Cup winner for the month of December.
In 13 games in December, the Finnish sniper produced 10 points (eight goals, two assists), in addition to leading the NHL with eight power play goals.
Linesman Michel Cormier left the game late in the second period. He was hit in the right leg by a powerful clear from Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and needed help to leave the ice.
The Canadian will hit the road again on Sunday towards Salt Lake City, where they will face Utah HC on Tuesday.
A good battle
The Stars controlled the game in the first period, firing 17 shots on goal, the same number conceded by the Canadian in the entire game against the Washington Capitals the day before, in a 3-2 overtime win.
Montembeault, however, was perfect during the first engagement. He made his best save by closing the opening when Mavrik Bourque tried to surprise him by going around the back of the net.
“’Monty’ was brilliant,” said Canadian forward Juraj Slafkovsky. We didn’t have the best of starts and they started strong. He (Montembeault) allowed us to find our bearings and get into their rhythm. »
The Canadian regained his composure in the second period. However, even though he controlled the game more, he didn’t really challenge Oettinger.
The Stars had a great opportunity to open the scoring when Slafkovsky attempted a risky pass at the opposing blue line. The Stars were able to counterattack three on one, but Montembeault stopped Benn’s shot.
The Habs finally opened the scoring with 4:46 left in the second period, during a two-player power play. Laine hit a one-timer that deflected off the blade of Lyubushkin’s stick before surprising Oettinger.
The Stars responded before the end of the period, with 2:25 remaining on the clock. Canadian defender Alexandre Carrier fell in the opposing zone and Benn orchestrated another overkill attack. This time, he beat Montembeault by aiming at the side of the shield.
Both goalkeepers were uncompromising in the third period and overtime. Oettinger was also lucky when Cole Caufield hit the post. A shootout session was therefore necessary to decide between the two teams.
