First period
- The start isn’t quite as energetic as the one on Tuesday.
- The Sharks get the first four shots on net, and the fourth one goes in. Lane Hutson couldn’t tie up Fabian Zetterlund on either of the two attempts he got at the side of the net, But Samuel Montembeault was looking the wrong way on both, so the two can share the blame on that one.
- That will be a red mark for Hutson in this Calder clash.
- Montreal does wake up after the first commercial break. Juraj Slafkovský steals the puck from Macklin Celebrini, Cole Caufield leads the two-on-one, and Nick Suzuki ties the game on a one-timer.
Juraj Slafkovsky forces the turnover, Cole Caufield takes it into the OZ, and Nick Suzuki hammers it to tie the game. Top line gets it done for the #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
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- Hutson and Celebrini now both have their minuses to even things up.
- Owen Beck’s line nearly adds a second as he and Patrik Laine get chances that Alexandar Georgiev just fights off.
- Even though Montreal ramped up its play, the Sharks just worked harder than Montreal on one shift to score their second goal. Laine couldn’t control a bouncing puck as it went to Nico Sturm, and Montreal has allowed as many goals in 13 minutes as they did in the previous two games combined.
- Brendan Gallagher is fighting hard in the first period
- San Jose nearly adds a third with a play low in Montreal’s zone. The Canadiens just aren’t defending well enough on those plays.
- Josh Anderson is also getting plenty of chances tonight, but his lack of finishing ability continues to frustrate him.
- Suzuki wins a faceoff, Hutson gets the puck back to him, and the captain beats a stumbling Georgiev for his second goal of the period.
Georgiev kinda just loses his balance, and Nick Suzuki snipes his second of the game. 2-2, #Habs draw even once more.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 8:43 PM
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- That’s Hutson’s 40th assist and 44th point of the season.
- A … strange period comes to an end in a 2-2 tie. Montreal is clearly the better team, but the Sharks are quite good at creating plays deep in the offensive zone when they get there.
Second period
- Laine pulls up on a rush to create some space for himself to make a play. Good. He hangs onto the puck so long that all of his teammates have gotten too far away to be pass options and he loses the puck as he’s forced to stick-handle. Less good.
- Hutson hits Suzuki with a 100-foot pass, but Suzuki just mistimes his zone entry with a potential breakaway.
- Hutson gets knocked down in a battle along the boards, and Jayden Struble immediately responds with a hard check on Ty Dellandrea. Barclay Goodrow drops his gloves to fight Struble, but they tie each other up too well to land any real punches.
- The hits are landing with more impact after that fight.
- Montembeault very nearly gives up a second goal while looking the wrong way, but Celebrini hits him with the puck.
- Montreal isn’t playing the five-man breakout style that worked so well versus Ottawa and Carolina. I guess they feel they don’t need to do that tonight.
- Josh Anderson is slow getting back to the bench. He tried to turn against the boards and just went down in a heap. He’s been battered to bits this season, but he stayed on the bench so it seems to be the same issue that’s bothered him all year. He eventually makes his way to the room.
- One cross-ice pass through traffic catches the Sharks completely off-guard, but Suzuki can’t finish off the hat trick.
- A line of Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, and Gallagher makes a series of passes that you wouldn’t expect from any of them, and it ends with a big save from Georgiev on Gallagher as the forward is being cross-checked at the top of the crease.
- San Jose gets a two-on-one as Arber Xhekaj gets caught up ice, and Will Smith just keeps and fires far-side to make it 3-2. They really capitalize on the chances they get with the top-end talent they have.
- Montreal could play a whole lot better than this if they wanted to. We’ll see if they do in the third.
Third period
- Anderson is back on the bench.
- Beck takes a hard hit into the end boards, knocked right off his feet and pinched into the boards, but that gives him time to get his feet back underneath him and make a play and earn his first NHL point. His pass leads to a missed shot from Laine, but Alex Newhook knocks it in before the puck can trickle wide.
First NHL point for Owen Beck as Alex Newhook ties the game!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 10:05 PM
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- Just after Michel Lacroix finishes announcing the goal, Tyler Toffoli wires a shot off the left elbow of the net. The Habs almost fell behind again.
- Hutson’s shiftiness at the blue line causes Collin Graf to trip him up. Montreal will get this game’s first power play.
- Montreal has two penalty-killers playing without sticks, and still can’t get a shot on net.
- Anderson just about gets a breakaway, but Shakir Mukhamadullin latches onto his arm and Anderson does down to get another call. Montreal gets a do-over.
- The good part about the first unit just passing the puck around is that the second heads out just trying to get a few shots.
- Another power-play chance squandered with very few actual pucks toward the net.
- The Sharks get a point, their 39th of the season.
Overtime
- Can Suzuki complete his hat trick with his fifth overtime goal of the season?
- Newhook sends a pass to the slot for Emil Heineman, but he fans on it.
- Cole Caufield dangles right through Celebrini, and it looks like he’s knocked the puck too far ahead, but he still lifts it into the top corner from the top of the crease. What an incredible play for goal #28!
COLE CAUFIELD WALKS CELEBRINI FOR THE OT WINNER
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 10:46 PM
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- Montreal wins 4-3 in overtime to run its winning streak to three. Next up: two games versus Buffalo.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) A thing we all say about four times a game
2) Several years — and several more great players in the lineup — from hitting his peak
1) What if he just played without a stick?
