First period
- The puck has been in Montreal’s zone for most of the first three minutes.
- A determined shift from Emil Heineman to steal the puck at centre ice finally helps the Habs get zone time. And they get a power play from it on a slashing call as Kaiden Guhle’s stick is snapped in half.
- Juraj Slafkovský’s stick breaks as he tries to put a rebound in on the only real chance the top unit earned in its 90 seconds.
- Lane Hutson advances low into the offensive zone, and then gets back on the backcheck to break up the counter-attack.
- Montreal has looked better since getting the power play. Chances from multiple lines.
- It’s beginning to require some great saves from Dustin Wolf to keep Montreal off the board.
- Samuel Montembeault stops a two-on-one. Then a sequence of four passes gets Slafkovský a chance right in the slot, which Wolf once again needs to make a big save on.
- There has been better puck support on breakouts in general, which is encouraging.
- An excellent sequence with Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson on the ice together results in three scoring chances. The Habs have done everything but score in the last six minutes or so.
- Calgary is allowing some open looks in their own slot, but the passes are still on tonight to set those plays up. A major change from the previous game when it seemed like every pass missed its mark.
- The persistent pressure leads to another power play.
- Dach is beginning to use his size to drive to the net more.
- Hutson drives down the wing and sends the puck back to Armia, whose shot just goes wide.
- Montreal has quickly gotten the shot total up to 15.
- Guhle flubs the puck at the offensive blue line, but Montembeault bails him out with a save on the breakaway. Everyone is on at the moment. Well, except for Guhle on that last play I suppose.
- The Habs don’t have a goal to show for their great play, but they should be feeling good about their game after the opening 20 minutes.
Second period
- Like they did in the first, the Flames start as the better team in the second.
- Cole Caufield fires a shot off the near-side post from a sharp angle.
- Connor Zary opens the scoring for the Flames after scrambling defence from Montreal’s fourth line.
- Nine minutes into the second period, the Canadiens have registered two shots. They shouldn’t have been that deflated by one goal against.
- Josh Anderson gets a tip on the puck in the slot, but it goes off the crossbar. How many times have seen that exact play end up in a goal against Montreal this season?
- Christian Dvorak draws his second penalty of the night. He’s been effective the last two games.
- What looked like a perfect double cross-ice passing play to set up Caufield was read perfectly by Wolf.
- The seconds unit gets the puck off the wall and right on the stick of Brendan Gallagher, left along at the top of the crease. He pulls Wolf across the top of the crease and sends the puck five-hole to tie the game.
- That wasn’t a great period from Montreal, but they got better as it went on, and scored the goal they should have had in the first. Twenty more minutes to play to turn this into a win.
Third period
- Slafkovský pulled the puck around his defender twice to get an open look from the slot, but clangs the puck off the post.
- Hutson ends up getting his stick on the hands of Flames player in a 50/50 battle. The opponent wins the battle and gets the puck, but Hutson is called for hooking anyway.
- And that’s how you respond to that. The ever reliable Evans-Armia PK duo puts the Habs ahead.
- Cole Caufield collected the puck, slips between two defenders, but can’t beat Wolf. That would have seriously raised the decibel level.
- Dach is finding a good deal of success just driving through the slot in this game. Some positive reinforcement for him. And something important for his inevitable return to centre.
- A hard-working effort to get the puck down the ice sees Anderson turn back against the flow of the play and find Gallagher with a pass. Gallagher scores, but there’s an offside review.
- Anderson did go over the blue line backwards before collecting the puck, so the goal is waved off. Still a good effort all around, and a nice play from the Powerhorse.
- In addition to playing well in general the last two games, Dvorak also seems to have gleaned the most from yesterday’s faceoff practice.
- Dach continues to make good plays, this time leading to a Guhle shot as the defenceman streaks right into the slot, but the shot misses the target.
- Matt Coronato hits the post. But his shot goes in the net afterward. Just that type of luck tonight.
- Alex Newhook is so excited to score his first goal on a cross-ice pass that he spins himself into the ice and misses the shot. That looked like something you’d see on Looney Tunes.
- It could have been the winner, but we got to overtime instead.
Overtime
- Nick Suzuki loses his stick on the centre-ice faceoff. Coronato ends the game seven seconds in.
- Habs lose 3-2, picking up a point.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) A completely different team from the one we watched last week
1) Make it so
1) I bet his body does, though
