The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 last night in a shootout in what may have been one of the most entertaining Canadiens games of the season. While it may be disappointing not to come away with two points, the game was exciting from beginning to end. Goaltender Mike Condon once again gave his team a chance to win and that is all that you can ask from the rookie who still has not been defeated in regulation.
The Canadiens got off to a rocky start, allowing Sidney Crosby to deliver a perfect pass to an open Pascal Dupuis to score just 13 seconds into the game. It looked like it could be a very long night for the Habs and their fathers who were along for the father-son trip. Fortunately, the Canadiens were able to capitalize on their first powerplay of the game to make it 1-1 just 4 minutes after the Penguins had opened the scoring. The Penguins applied constant pressure on the penalty kill and the Canadiens had to move the puck quite quickly. P.K. Subban was tremendous at keeping the puck inside the blue line and Andrei Markov made no mistake one timing the puck into the net. From then the Canadiens started to find their legs although the Penguins still managed higher quality scoring chances.
Scoring chances 12-8 for Penguins over #Habs after 1. High danger chances 7-2 Penguins. pic.twitter.com/ZOG6fjMlI3
— Sportlogiq (@Sportlogiq) November 12, 2015With less than a minute to play in the first period, Phil Kessel’s shot would get deflected by Olli Matta’s leg giving the Penguins a 2-1 heading into the first intermission. That type of goal allowed was reminiscent of the Canadiens play last season, especially when a late period goal would deflate the players for the rest of the game. This year’s edition of the Habs have proven to be full of character. The late goal motivated the Canadiens to play better and they did, dominating the Penguins in the second period. Goals by Brendan Gallagher and Brian Flynn gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead and they limited the Penguins to just one shot.
The third period was non-stop action as the Penguins pressed to even the score. The Canadiens had a golden opportunity to go up ahead 4-2 on an odd man rush but Max Pacioretty shot the puck into Marc-André Fleury whereas usually he is money with roofing it top corner. Patric Hornqvist would tie the game at 3-3 as his shot was ever so slightly deflected by Jeff Petry, changing the trajectory just enough to get up high over Condon. The Penguins had an excellent opportunity to win the game in regulation as Tom Gilbert took an undisciplined penalty with just over 2 minutes left to play. The PK unit and Condon were excellent and the game went to 3 on 3.
Compared to their all too brief 3 on 3 experience against the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens were much more strategic. They held off on line changes until the appropriate time and did their best to limit odd man rushes going against Condon. Nothing was forced. Unfortunately, miscommunication led to another Canadiens penalty (too many men) as Tom Gilbert hopped on the ice while Gallagher was still playing the puck right next to the Canadiens bench. Somehow the Canadiens penalty killers were able to hold off Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and Letang and the game went to a shootout. Unfortunately, one can only hold off the Penguins for so long as David Perron and Crosby both scored on Condon while neither Alex Galchenyuk or David Desharnais could beat Fleury.
Puck Props & Flops from the game:
Props:
P.K. Subban - I thought that Subban had been a bit quiet as of late but he stepped up against the Penguins last night. Teams are taking away his shot on the powerplay but he is not forcing it through. Instead Subban is finding the open man and shooting with the intent of a redirection or moving and keeping the play alive. He has 7 powerplay points in the last 9 games. It is not a coincidence that at the same time that the Canadiens powerplay has been on a roll. Subban was also excellent on the penalty kill late in the game. He played a very smart game in Pittsburgh. Subban only has one goal on the year and a shooting percentage of 2.8%. I would expect that to climb shortly.
Props:
Pascal Dupuis - It’s hard not to cheer for Dupuis. If you haven’t read his account of playing through and recovering from his blood clots, it is well worth your time to do.
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/pascal-dupuis-penguins-comeback/
He got the Penguins going with the first goal of the game and had blocked 3 shots as well. Not bad for a guy who had missed the last couple of games for precautionary reasons.
Flop:
Tom Gilbert - Not the showing he probably wanted to have in front of his father… His holding call towards the end of the game could have really cost the Habs an opportunity to come away with a point. During overtime, he should have checked to see where the puck was before hopping over the boards. Gilbert was very fortunate that his teammates were able to kill off both penalties but the veteran should know better…
Props:
Brian Flynn - After being a bit of a passenger the past couple of games, Flynn stepped up against the Penguins. He had 5 shots on net and snuck a goal past Fleury in what would have been the winning goal had the Canadiens held off the Penguins. He looked much more engaged, as were his linemates Torrey Mitchell and Paul Byron.
Props:
Marc Bergevin - If you listened to Sergio Momesso’s hit on TSN 690 this morning, you heard him confirm my suspicion. That Greg Pateryn only played three games in St. John’s on his conditioning stint so that he wouldn’t miss out on the father-son trip. Total class by the Canadiens and Bergevin. Pateryn hasn’t played a game this season but he is obviously very much a part of this team.
Flop:
Alexei Emelin - After playing a strong game against the Boston Bruins, Emelin did not look very good against the Penguins. He had 3 hits and a blocked shot but somehow no giveaways even though I counted at least 2 during the night. Emelin was shaky with the puck and had a hard time clearing the zone. So far this season he has been mostly consistent playing with Jeff Petry. Hopefully this was an off game and he will rebound at home on Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Neither Here Nor There:
Again if you listened to Momesso on the radio this morning, you would have heard that Jarred Tinordi’s father Mark, did not join the group for the father-son trip. Last year the former NHLer came down hard on the Canadiens for not properly developing his son. While perhaps there was some truth to what he had to say, in the end the younger Tinordi has to make the most of his opportunities and he has simply not done that. By not joining the group on the trip, it further isolates Jarred from the team. And really, who doesn’t want an opportunity to spend time with their son? Perhaps this should really be a flop but since Tinordi didn’t play I put this here instead…
Galchenyuk seems tailor made for 3on3 overtime but I understand not wanting to have him go first against Sidney Crosby. I was hesitant about Desharnais starting extra time but Plekanec had just been on killing Gilbert’s penalty to end the 3rd period.
Condon allowed more than 2 goals for the first time this season but one cannot place the loss on him. He gave the Canadiens a chance to win. What I really like about Condon is the way he battles. He is rarely caught out of position and recovers quickly if he is. He follows and anticipates the play. Now he’ll just work on shootouts a little more...
We should get an update on Dale Weise tomorrow. He collided awkwardly with Ben Lovejoy and it looked like he had injured his right knee. He temporarily left the game but came after seeing the trainers/doctors. However, Weise did not look to be 100% as he missed a shift here and there even after he returned.
Kudos to Fleury to coming back to the game after getting cut by his own teammates stick in the first period. I will not even attempt to understand how he could play with blood running down his face but he did it. No doubt, hockey players are the toughest.
Cheers & Follow Along!