- As the Ottawa Senators go down 3-0 to the Colorado Avalanche, it’s time for the Habs game to begin.
First period
- Right, I forgot about this weird camera angle at UBS Arena.
- Christian Dvorak nearly picked right up where he left off on Tuesday, but his shot from close range went just wide.
- Brendan Gallagher is going to the box for goalie interference even though the contact was incidental right at the corner of the crease. But, I suppose that means no one can bump Samuel Montembeault either.
- The Canadiens killed off most of the penalty without allowing anything dangerous, but Alexandre Carrier and Mike Matheson both went into the same corner to battle for he puck, and that left Anthony Duclair wide open at the top of the crease.
- The Habs players’ effort is a bit too individual in the moment after the goal as they all try to get it back immediately. This first timeout is necessary to settle everyone down,
- Adam Pelech goes off for interference, and the Canadiens will test this 31st-ranked penalty kill.
- Despite the power play expiring, the Canadiens get a few more chances at the front of the net, but Brendan Gallagher can’t jab the puck over the line on a few attempts.
- He softened up Ilya Sorokin for the next shift however, and Joshua Roy poked the puck past him to tie the game with his first NHL goal of the season.
Joshua Roy beats Noah Dobson to the rebound and gets the Habs on the board!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
[image or embed]
- Shots are 9-2 Montreal.
- What an effort from Josh Anderson. He speed past his man to get a loose puck in the neutral zone and start an offensive shift. then gets taken down by Anders Lee as he circles around the zone. That line has been doing really well recently.
- Juraj Slafkovský tries to deflect a Patrik Laine shot. The stick can’t handle the force.
- The Islanders actually look pretty good defending, because they’re mostly taking the four passing lanes from the point away, disrupting Montreal’s quarterbacking style.
- Laine goes down on an entry and takes the swinging stick of Noah Dobson right to the side of the face. He leaves a trail of blood as he goes off for repairs, He’ll be back, but probably wearing a cage.
- The first period ends in a 1-1 tie.
- Meanwhile, it Ottawa, it is 5-0, while the Maple Leafs are up 3-2 on the Rangers.
Second period
- Brendan Gallagher tries to follow his man in the offensive zone, and Scott Mayfield steps in his way to lay a pick. The ref calls Gallagher for interference in just a horrendous bit of officiating.
- Noah Dobson does a similar thing on Jake Evans on the penalty kill. This time the ref’s brain works properly to call the right team.
- Laine is back. He’s not wearing a cage.
- Montreal doesn’t get a goal on the abbreviated power play, but Nick Suzuki smartly realizes that the Islanders need to change, and hangs back in the neutral zone. He accepts the pass, goes in on Sorokin, and scores. However, the Islanders challenge for offside, and the replay shows it was close. The linesmen are looking at one freezeframe and trying to make a call. They determine from that frame that the play was about a quarter inch offside.
- Another lob pass from Hutson. Is this a sign of fatigue from him? He didn’t do that in the first 66 games.
- Montreal has been the better team in this period, but without a second goal it doesn’t matter. They have to find a way to get another puck past Sorokin.
- Matheson gets beat to the net, by Kyle Palmieri, and the Islanders will have a third power play.
- Simon Holmstrom shoots, and the Canadiens are losing despite outshooting their opponent 25-12 through 37 minutes.
- I thought Montreal has the special-teams advantage tonight, but it’s New York with the two power-play goals.
- The Islanders seem to be targeting Matheson for their cycles in this game.
- We did see the Habs go to the dressing room down 2-1 on Tuesday and that game turned out okay, so we’ll see what they have in store for the third.
Third period
- As the third period is about to start, the Rangers have lost 4-3 to the Maple Leafs. no matter what, Montreal won’t lose its playoff spot tonight.
- Matheson gets outskated by Bo Horvat, and Montembeault allows a third goal of 15 shots.
- Kyle MacLean trips up Jake Evans, and the Canadiens have to score on this power play to have a shot at winning this game.
- They do manage that off the stick of Laine following a scrum in front of the net. New York challenged for goaltender interference, but Juraj Slafkovsky made incidental contact outside the crease, so this goal should stand.
Patrik Laine buries it through the chaos for a power play goal This is also under review
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
[image or embed]
- They get the call correct, and Montreal is right back on the power play with the score 3-2.
- A couple of looks on that second power play, but not the urgency required to tie the game.
- Hutson thought about driving down the wall to tie another game up, but this time his path wasn’t open.
- Newhook fires a shot that sounded like it hit both the post and the crossbar. So close to a tie game.
- On the day he revealed that his mother recently passed away, Gallagher gets the puck in the neutral zone, and the only player who could catch him tripped over the red line. He goes in, and puts the puck over Sorokin’s glove to make this a 3-3 game.
It's hard to not love for this for Gallagher after the week he's had
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 20, 2025 at 11:13 PM
[image or embed]
- Montreal looks a bit too content to claim a point. They’ve been by far the better team. Don’t change that with five minutes to play.
- The top line puts in an excellent shift in the offensive zone and comes close to scoring on several occasions.
- New York ices the puck with 11 seconds to play. One last shot at a regulation win.
- The puck comes out, but that’s a big point for the Canadiens versus a team that’s chasing them.
Overtime
- Dvorak is out to take the faceoff again….
- No instant game-winner this time.
- Dvorak breaks his stick, but Suzuki yoinks the puck to end that zone presence.
- New York has all the possession in the opening two minutes.
- Hutson goes down the wall and tries to score one-on-two, but Laine makes an ill-advised decision to follow him on the play. The puck goes the other way on a two-on-one, and Horvat scores.
- Montreal loses a point to the Islanders, but gains one on the Blue Jackets and Rangers. All in all, about the best outcome possible in a losing effort.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Keep it simple, Struble
2) It’s nice to not have a 10-month off-season
1) Okurrr, Habs. That’s a key point
