- Just get a point.
First period
- It’s a weakened team that Carolina has put on the ice tonight, and the Canadiens need to capitalize on it.
- So far, they are looking like the better team, which there is no doubt of tonight.
- Montreal is seeing some open ice, and getting setups that just aren’t quite connecting right now.
- Kaiden Guhle quickly recovers the puck after a giveaway from a teammate in Montreal’s zone. He helps turn the play up the ice, and ends up with plenty of space to fire a shot, beating Pyotr Kochetkov to open the scoring.
Great curl by Slafkovsky after the zone entry to buy some time, gives it to Guhle, and a perfect shot to the outside post makes it 1-0 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 8:21 PM
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- That’s a bonus goal that no one could have expected.
- Jake Evans has had a couple of good chances in this period, most recently missing an open net. If he can get one, that’s another bonus goal.
- Ivan Demidov just dangled his way right through the entire Hurricanes defence and just sent his shot high.
- Cole Caufield has a breakaway from the blue line. His shot goes off the blocker of Kochetkov.
- It’s getting to the point where just the one-goal lead is disappointing with all the other opportunities they’ve had.
- Taylor Hall makes it 1-1 as the Canadiens defence collapses to the crease instead of fronting threats. The game is reset, and that good start means nothing now.
- But Jayden Struble leads the rush off the centre-ice faceoff, and it eventually leads to a Montreal power play.
- The Hurricanes centre falls and plays the puck with his hand. The linesman comes in and correctly calls a hand pass. But playing the puck with your hand on the faceoff is a penalty, and now the officials are huddling at centre ice trying to pretend that didn’t actually happen. After a few seconds, they all agree that it didn’t. No penalty.
- Caufield steals the puck at centre ice and sends the puck over for an open Juraj Slafkovský, but Slafkovský misses the puck.
- Given the quality of play in that opening period, Montreal should probably have a two-goal lead. Instead, it’s a 1-1 tie. This was never going to be easy.
Second period
- It’s a very nervous start to the period for Montreal. Everyone is just trying to get rid of the puck as quickly as possible instead of making a play.
- Samuel Montembeault has to make two big saves on shots from the slot.
- Kochetkov puts the puck out of play. At the very least the Canadiens can regain some composure and make a few passes.
- A perfect setup finds Gallagher wide open at the side of the net. He misses it. It seems the better the chance, the more it’s getting missed by.
- Nick Suzuki sends a perfect pass across to Cole Caufield. His shot hits Kochetkov’s glove and then the crossbar. That’s about five chances for Montreal in this game that probably should have been goals.
- Slafkovský takes a penalty on the same play, to take a sequence form bad to worse.
- Montreal hangs on to get the kill.
- Alexandre Carrier had one shot go off Carolina shinpads, but he showed more patience when he got the puck back, found Suzuki though a seam, and the captain calmly found an opening in Kochetkov’s defences to put his team on top.
Nick Suzuki goes short side, 2-1 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 9:42 PM
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- Suzuki now has 30 goals and is one point away from 90. I think he’d be perfectly happy with his season if neither he nor anyone else in this game got another point.
- Joel Armia took the puck off the boards to the slot, but he’s physically unable to shoot so just had to turn back to the boards with it.
- Kaiden Guhle, noted offensive superstar. He scores his second goal of this game after another strong offensive-zone shift from Slafkovský.
Cole Caufield dancing on the half wall, finds Guhle wide open at the point, and he fires his second of the night from there, 2-1 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) April 16, 2025 at 9:48 PM
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- Well I don’t think Suzuki will mind that one going in.
- Hutson ties the all-time rookie defenceman assist record on that play, with his 60th of the season.
- Carolina really pushes to get that goal back, but Montreal gets the clear, and the horn sounds on the second period.
Third period
- One last pressure-filled period in this 2024-25 season.
- The crowd is loud to begin. The Canadiens will need their energy for the next 35 minutes or so.
- Andrei Svechnikov very nearly put the puck in his own net while trying to play it behind his net. I’d say he’s playing at about 40% right now.
- The Hurricanes are being very generous to the young Bell Centre fans by giving them souvenirs tonight. Dmitry Kulikov will sit for this latest gift.
- Patrik Laine misses the net on a Slafkovský setup from the slot that was Montreal only real chance. but two minutes drained off the clock in the meantime.
- The play is all in Carolina’s end, a perfect way to defend a lead.
- Gallagher is going to the dressing room. I didn’t see what happened there.
- The RDS replay showed a potential leg injury from it bending the wrong way. Hopefully just pain and not an injury.
- Gallagher is back. Just pain.
- Anderson gets a breakaway. He doesn’t score, but an offensive-zone faceoff is also a good result with 10 minutes to play.
- The crowd starts up an “Olé!” verse as we hit seven minutes to play.
- With 5:50 to go, Carolina makes it 3-2.
- Taylor Hall hits the post with about five minutes to go. Montreal is just trying to hold on now.
- With 2:15 left, Kochetkov goes to the bench.
- Matheson ices the puck and, there will just be a final two-minute five-on-six penalty kill for the Canadiens.
- Jake Evans gets the puck at the faceoff dot and fires it down the ice, hitting the empty net and making it 4-2.
- The crowd rises as the seconds tick away. The Montreal Canadiens are going to the playoffs!
EOTP 3 Stars
3) ¡Vamos Habs!
2) Great to see everyone start on time tonight
1) A critical performance from the Slovak.
