First period
- Just have a good start, guys
- The Panthers got the first four shots, but Nick Suzuki had the first great chance. Anthony Stolarz turned it aside.
- The start is alright. Montreal isn’t getting completely run over in any case.
- And then Aleksander Barkov scores as a two-on-one develops.
- Suzuki gets another chance, completely alone this time after a pass from Arber Xhekaj, patiently waits for Stolarz to throw up his glove, then sends the puck past it.
- Juraj Slafkovský is joking with Martin St-Louis on the bench, so it seems there’s no animosity there about the brief benching last game. Slafkovský did blame his own play for that happening, so all seems good on that front.
- Jesse Ylönen’s linemates are matching the effort level he had last game. The trio just had a pressure shift in the offensive zone, and drew a first penalty for Montreal in three games.
- Florida’s penalty kill is very aggressive, but the top unit had a high panic threshold to set up several chances anyway.
- It’s during games like this when the Canadiens decide to play well that you think ahead to what the next season holds with Dach in the lineup.
- Mike Matheson fakes out a neutral zone forechecker to break the trap and generate a two-on-one with Jake Evans. He keeps the puck, cuts to the middle, and Stolarz just gets his toe on the shot.
- An offensive-zone faceoff for the fourth line now. It’s playing very well. The Panthers may be regretting their Colin White tribute earlier in the period.
- Sam Reinhart sets up to glove down a high puck, but he didn’t call for a fair catch and Matheson bowls him over.
- Matthew Tkachuk and Matheson head to box for coincidental roughing minors after tempers flare out of nowhere.
- Montreal had the edge on the first period, but Jake Evans took a tripping penalty at the final horn to give the Panthers the upper hand to start the second.
Second period
- The first three-on-four unit does very well with Joel Armia on the ice. Suzuki’s intelligence allowed him to play his spot aggressively to kill off the other minute, and he just about took off on a breakaway when he recognized that Johnny Kovacevic had the puck and time to move it but the defenceman was focused only on clearing the zone.
- Since we’re speaking about intelligence, the Panthers thought they were going to get a three-on-two late in a shift, but a perfect backcheck form Joshua Roy took option #3 away, and they decided to change instead.
- More pressure for the fourth line. It’s really just the Evans line with Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson that isn’t playing well so far.
- Kovacevic gets his hands up on Nick Cousins, and will go to the box for it. Kovacevic felt he was embellishing, but it’s hard to pop your own helmet off your head.
- Samuel Montembeault makes a big save on Barkov to deny him his second goal of the game.
- Florida is just swarming the zone now. Montreal is just hanging on.
- David Savard ends a long presence with a cross-checking penalty, not helped by a failed clear by Ylönen about 20 seconds before.
- Kaiden Guhle keeps making goal-saving plays on the penalty kill.
- But Florida scores anyway, and it’s Sam Reinhart’s 40th of the year from right in front of the crease.
- Guhle jumps up to get a shot. It’s all one-and-done for Montreal now after having some good pressure in the opening 20 minutes.
- The top line finally gets set up on offence, and launches three shots on tagret, doubling the Habs’ total in the period.
- Instead of a final-seconds penalty, it’s a goal for Montreal this time. Slafkovský lines up at the top of the circle on the faceoff, and the puck ends up right on his stick. He pulls it back and scores.
- Montreal had no business scoring as many goals as Florida in that period, but that is the case, and now they need another first-period performance to end this match.
Third period
- Ylönen draws a penalty three minutes in, so there’s a chance to erase the goal his botched clear eventually generated in the second.
- And that’s exactly what happens. Alex Newhook heads toward his bumper spot after the line is gained, but the chance opens up right away for him. He scores his first power-play goal as a Canadien.
- The referee makes a terrible call on Cole Caufield as the winger hits Brandon Montour and the defenceman eventually spins to the ice.
- It just means a chance for more good plays on the penalty kill for Guhle.
- The kill is complete.
- Kovacevic gets away with a hold on Evan Rodrigues to prevent a breakaway rodrigues decides to just run through Montembeault to end the sequence. The referee saves Rodrigues’s life by standing between him an a charging Xhekaj. Rodrigues goes to the box, so Montreal is on another power play.
- The power play does look good. Florida can’t be as aggressive as they tried to be earlier on.
- Now Rodrigues lands a hit on Gallagher as he’s engaged with another defender. I guess he’s feeling a bit too protected.
- Caufield gets taken down, and that’s another Canadiens power play.
- Slafkovský thinks he has an open pass across the ice to Caufield, but it gets picked off. Though The Canadiens are in good enough position to defend the counter-attack, a perfect shot from Reinhart gets over the shoulder of Montembeault for a shot-handed goal.
- It’s Florida chance to get a goal while being outplayed.
- Montreal calls a timeout with 41 seconds to go on their power play to give the top unit a rest.
- Caufeld passes the puck across the Royal Road to Newhook, who does the same back toward Suzuki, but Aaron Ekblad’s stick prevents the connection.
- The Panthers get one more shot at the horn, but this game is off to overtime. A very good job by the Canadiens, especially given how the first 15 minutes of the second period played out.
Overtime
- I didn’t know the Panthers dove this much. They’re looking like Ottawa out here tonight.
- Evans gets free from Anderson and Gallagher and had two good attempts to end the game.
- Suzuki and Newhook have just sent shots wide after good passes.
- Now that’s what three-on-three overtime is supposed to look like. Very little time spent regrouping, just all-out attack.
- It’s a shame this game will be decided in a shootout.
Shootout
- Ylönen goes first. He hits the post after great sequence of fakes. He’s done that a couple of times this year.
- Montembeault calmly stops Reinhart and tosses the puck away.
- Suzuki gets Stolarz down on his belly, but the goalie leaves his glove just high enough to make the save.
- Barkov shoots a little quicker than expected and beats Montembeault on his feet.
- Caufield jams on the brakes and rips one past Stolarz to keep this going.
- Anton Lundell’s move is too good, and Montembeault bites. The goaltender races off the ice upset with that one. He is too hard on himself sometimes.
- Overall, a great game from Montreal, and only a point in the standings for the tanking crew. Florida wins a fun one 4-3.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) It’s the veterans you have to watch through your fingers
2) Always more lovers than haters
1) He’s showing his talents while not sitting in the penalty box
