Top Six Minutes: Canadiens claim a key point in Edmonton

First period

Edmonton comes out with three early shots. It seems they’re tired of losing
“Let’s Go Oilers!” “Go Habs Go!” being chanted at equal volumes it appears.
Cole Caufield almost opens the scoring as the member of the top line spread out in the offensive zone and try to set each other up.
The teams are trading shots back and forth, and both clubs are trying to get in tight before doing so. Josh Anderson had the latest at the side of the net, but it was a bit too slow coming across from Christian Dvorak to be dangerous.
Corey Perry gets in behind both Lane Hutson and Jayden Struble and has time to make a deke across Samuel Montembeault and backhand it in to open the scoring.
Fair to say the defence hasn’t been having a fun time containing the Oilers tonight. they have eight shots in 12 minutes, and now a power play earned from their offensive-zone cycle.
The Canadiens now have two players in the box for high-sticking as Alexandre Carrier joins Brendan Gallagher for 43 seconds, or probably less.
Gallagher kills off about 20 of the remaining seconds by grabbing the puck out of the box and skating it around in the Oilers’ zone. He gets a loud cheer from the Habs fans at Rogers Place.
Not only did Montreal survive the three-on-five, they got some momentum, and Cole Caufield turned it into the tying goal. His first shot was stopped by Stuart Skinner, but his follow-up went in for his 31st goal of the season.

Caufield is nine away from 40. Of course, if he scores every game as he has in the past four he’ll get to 50.
Perry goes to the box for slashing Struble in the hand, and now the Habs will try to do what the Oilers couldn’t.
Neither team can take advantage of its power-play time, so the opening period ends 1-1, with shots 13-9 in the Habs’ favour.
It looks like this one should keep people awake at least.

The period begins with a too-many-men penalty on Montreal.
Leon Draisaitl shoots through a Zach Hyman screen and it took just a handful of seconds for Edmonton to score.
Owen Beck sends a nice pass to where only Alex Newhook could get to it, but Newhook can’t complete the backhand deke.
Caufield flips the puck down the ice to end a two-minute shift for the top line in its own zone.
Viktor Arvidsson beats Montembeault from close range, but the post has the goalie’s back.
Montreal has two shots on goal in he first half of the period.
And the third one goes in. Hutson’s point streak stays alive as he draws the attention of three Oilers and perfectly tees up Joel Armia standing in a box of all five Oilers defenders.

Lane Hutson to Joel Armia and we're tied up again in Edmonton

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— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) March 6, 2025 at 11:23 PM

Caufield and Suzuki almost followed it up with the go-ahead goal.
Hutson skates hard to separate and creates a two-on-one with Suzuki. The pass deflects just beyond the defenceman’s reach.
Edmonton had control of the minutes of the period, but the score remains 2-2.

After a couple of early shots for Edmonton, Suzuki tries to wrap the puck around the net for a goal. Even though he gets tripped by Evan Bouchard, he still nearly manages to tuck it in while falling behind the net.
Suzuki is playing both waves of the power play tonight, and that even after being on the ice when the latest penalty was drawn.
Newhook just sends the puck a few inches wide as the power play expires.
The momentum is just going in waves this game, and it’s been pretty entertaining.
We should be due for a Habs wave any minute now.
Connor McDavid hits the post with Montembeault well out on the opposite side.
It has been all Edmonton in these final minutes of the third period. The Canadiens can’t get the puck.
Now Montreal is just trying to hang on for a point.
And they get it, which is one more than Columbus, Detroit, Boston, and Philadelphia earned tonight.

As they had for much of the game, the teams traded bouts of possession in overtime, but the game ends after a cross-ice pass from McDavid to Bouchard in the final seconds. Montreal had several occasions to find a winner before that, but falls 3-2.

3) Doing well in his limited minutes

2) SIX (games with at least a point) IN A ROW!

1) More like Brain Hutson