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Canadiens vs. Penguins Top Six Minutes: Habs undone by untimely errors

The Canadiene battled back to tie the game, but made too many mistakes in the third period to turn it into a win.

Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

First period

  • The Prime Video feet has an iso cam on Lane Hutson’s feet.
  • Mike Matheson tries another end-to-end rush, but doesn’t earn himself a penalty shot on this occasion.
  • The crowd noise begins to rise every time the Canadiens attack the zone with speed. That’s the chance to score a goal at any moment I mentioned last game.
  • After sleepy few minutes, Lars Eller scores on his former team. Hutson was left to defend two players on the rush.
  • Montreal still doesn’t have a shot eight minutes in. This is a Penguins team that allows 35 per game.
  • This is the worst the Canadiens have looked so far this season. They can’t execute a single play in any zone.
  • Just how much turkey did these guys eat?
  • Pittsburgh is picking off all the passes along the boards. They need to use the middle more.
  • The first good shift has Hutson heavily involved.
  • Eller loses his stick but tries to keep playing the and Justin Barron crunches him into the boards. Drew O’Connor felt there was something sinister about it and tried to get Barron to fight.
  • Montreal is starting to play much better now.
  • Pittsburgh wins more battles in the defensive zone, as Lane Hutson once again has to try to contain two players. Evgeni Malkin sets up Rickard Rakell for the 2-0 goal.
  • Montreal gets that one right back as Kaiden Guhle fires the puck in from the point. Juraj Slafkovský set a perfect screen in front of Tristan Jarry who didn’t even know the shot had come.
  • Their momentum instantly dies with a Joel Armia roughing penalty.
  • The penalty kill was the best defence Montreal played that period. That’s generally been the case so far this year.
  • Montreal is lucky to be down just one goal after 20 minutes.

Second period

  • Josh Anderson steals the puck in the corner and gets a dangerous backhand shot on goal.
  • Hutson and Guhle are together once again. Savard wasn’t being much help to the rookie in the opening period.
  • The ref missed one call on Pittsburgh on the second rush up the ice. His hand goes up immediately on the third foray.
  • Nick Suzuki fakes a shot and instead finds the stick of Slafkovský at the side of the net for the 2-2 goal.
  • The Canadiens look as good as they did bad in the first period.
  • Pittsburgh hits a post. That’s two or three tonight.
  • Kirby Dach accidentally killed a man with the momentum he carried behind the net. I think he was surprised by how hard the contact was.
  • Martin St-Louis is laughing behind the bench, to give you another indication of how much better this period has been.
  • Emil Heineman gets plastered into the boards from behind by Jesse Puljujarvi, and Guhle is the first player on the scene. Four-on-four for a couple of minutes.
  • Heineman must be okay because he just blistered a shot past Jarry’s glove to put Montreal ahead.
  • Eller sends another perfect shot off the post to beat Montembeault and tie the game.
  • Hutson shows off a new trick. The high forwards tried to force him to the wall, but he decided to attack the gap between them and open up an acre of space for himself.
  • Montreal wins the period, and a tie is a fair result considering how the first went. Now we have a 20-minute hockey game to decide it.

Third period

  • Quick reflexes allow Caufield to get a quick shot from close range, but Jarry denies him his fifth of the year.
  • Anderson draws an interference penalty for taking a stick to the face. It’s two minutes all the same.
  • The players now have the option to not use the drop pass on the power play. We’ve seen straight end-to-end entries for the past couple of games.
  • Only about 25 seconds for Hutson on that PP.
  • Alex Newhook drives to the net for a shot, and ends up catching Jarry under the mask with his stick on the follow-through.
  • Hutson turns another puck at the blue line into a slot-pass from the goal line by deking around Bryan Rust and racing in. Just a joy to watch every shift.
  • Anderson is forcing the Penguins to scramble to contain him,. They should have been called for another penalty there.
  • Out of a TV timeout, Erik Karlsson sends a shot on goal that Montembeault spills, and Kevin Hayes pots the open rebound.
  • Kirby Dach gets taken down below the goal line, and that allows the Penguins to break out with numbers. Matheson had once chance to prevent a two-on-zero, but couldn’t thwart the pass, and Kris Letang scores to make it 5-3.
  • Montembeault makes tow big saves, then goes to the bench with 3:30 left.
  • Caufield blasts the puck off the host after a Hutson pass.
  • Some good work in three minutes of possession from Montreal’s six-man unit.
  • The pressure stays on after a timeout, but Malkin hits the empty net from 170 feet.
  • Montreal loses 6-3 after a couple of quick-strike goals in the third period.

EOTP 3 Stars

3) Thanks, l’Harceleur!

2) Seeing things no one else can

1) He has us all fooled

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