First period
- Montreal survives an early attack from the Coyotes, and have started to play a bit.
- Kaiden Guhle steps up and knocks Alex Kerfoot to the ice in the offensive zone. That transition rush isn’t going anywhere.
- Alex Newhook hits Arber Xhekaj with a pass on a rush opportunity, but Josh Anderson isn’t prepared for him to drop it back, and Montreal’s best chance of the period is wasted.
- Montreal is starting to string together some good looks now. They’re just not resulting in shots.
- Joel Armia hits the net, and that goal was due to come at some point with how the team was playing. A nice pass from Joshua Roy to start, and then a patient one from Newhook to make sure h hit the eventual goal-scorer.
- Another one of those long defensive-zone shifts when it looks like the Canadiens are just reacting to where the puck is.
- It’s amazing that the Habs only have four shots through 13 minutes given how many “oohs” have been heard from the crowd so far.
- Arizona gets a power play and looks pretty good on it, but Montembeault is the best penalty-killer during the two-minutes shift for his teammates.
- Despite shots being 11-5, I thought Montreal was the more dangerous team, trying some higher-risk plays that just didn’t pan out.
Second period
- The Coyotes once again get a hot start to begin the period.
- Jesse Ylönen is playing hard tonight, keeping plays alive in the offensive zone that typically die on fourth-line shifts.
- Jordan Harris heads up ice after blocking a shot on a two-on-one with Anderson, and makes the correct decision to shoot, making it a 2-0 game.
- You knew the multi-goal lead wasn’t going to last long. The Coyotes roll the puck over the back of the net to get it past two defenders behind the net and Kerfoot surprises Montembeault on the opposite side.
- Now Liam O’Brien runs into Montembeault and pulls the stick from his hands, but he jumps on the puck to get a whistle. Sam isn’t happy, nor should he be.
- Slafkovský whacks a player in the head with his stick, and goes to the box for it.
- One more Montembeault gets run into. The refs have to pause proceedings to fix the net that keeps coming off. What they need to do is call the Coyotes players for goaltender interference to stop that from happening.
- The ice crew squirts some water in the peg hole, then sucks it back out, and we’re set to go.
- The Habs aren’t containing the Coyotes penalty kill very well tonight. They’re connecting a lot of their cross-ice passes.
- Montembeault just lost his stick on his own now.
- After sitting on the bench for a few shifts after his penalty, Slafkovský puts all of his frustration into a crunching reverse hit on O’Brien.
- Johnny Kovacevic fires a saucer pass from the goal line up to Nick Suzuki at the far blue line, but the captain puts a shot off the crossbar just as time expires.
- That period was undoubtedly in favour of the Coyotes. Montreal is still holding the lead, however.
Third period
- Slafkovský starts the third back on the Suzuki line, so it seems Martin St-Louis feels he’s made his point.
- Arizona hits 30 shots four minutes into the period. Montreal is at 17.
- Harris sends a pass up to Tanner Pearson, and though the veteran slips, he carries enough momentum to get his shot away and make it 3-1.
- Harris just needs a fight for the Gordie Howe hat trick.
- Caufield gets hooked down to the ice with a two-on-one developing ahead of him. The officials decide not to call that.
- Montembeault sees both of his defencemen in the corner as the puck slides his way, so that’s going to be another smother of the puck to reset.
- Anderson tries to play the puck deeper into the Arizona zone, but hits an opponents skates instead, knocking him down and getting a penalty.
- Montembeault was at the bench getting some equipment repairs during the final Tv timeout. He’s wearing it out tonight.
- It must have been his let-in-a-goal gear, because the next shot goes in on a slow deflection off Guhle.
- Arizona deserved to get a lucky break in this one.
- Ingram goes to the bench with about two minutes, but the five Habs skaters hold their formation well to keep things to the outside.
- Montembeault is trying to score a goal now. Why not when he’s done everything else in this game?
- Nick Suzuki gets the Alexander Ovechkin special with a late empty-netter.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) Harris never even considered making a pass
2) Wins will sometimes happen though
When you give the start to Montembeault
1) Roy the Boy
