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Game 55: Canadiens vs Devils AKA It's the End that Matters |
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Claude Julien announced shortly before the game that Charlie Lindgren would be manning the Habs' net and that both Jordan Weal and Victor Mete stayed at the hotel both falling victim to the ongoing flu epidemic in the Habs' dressing room. The Canadiens weren't the only depleted line-up though as PK Subban was also ill and Nico Hischer missed the game too.
To be fair, the Canadiens didn't start the game that badly, they were dominating both the puck possession and shot wise but when Charlie Lindgren gave up the first goal, the whole team seemed to collectively collapse. To be fair, it was a crappy goal to give up as the goaltender had clearly lost his bearings and just wasn't covering much net in a tight angle. The first frame ended with the Devils leading 1-0 and it has to be said that it was far from a thrilling affair...in true Montreal vs New Jersey fashion, it was sometimes hard to stay awake.
Speaking of awake, the Devils most certainly were and came out with a bang in the second, scoring twice to take a 3-0 lead at the 6:44 mark. At that stage, the Tricolore kind of looked dead and buried, until the Devils got a power play and allowed Joel Armia to score a shorthanded goal. Shortly thereafter, Nate Thompson got the Habs back to within one but it still didn't feel like the Canadiens would manage to pull off the comeback...
Until the start of the 3rd that is. I don't know what happened between periods or if Claude Julien just started handing out Cold-FX capsules but his men looked alive and well in the third. The newly formed Kovalchuk-Domi-Cousins line linked up and Cousins tied the score before none other than Christian Folin scored his first goal of the season which was the go ahead goal. Montreal couldn't just shut the Devils down and hang on though, with 20 seconds to go, Palmieri tied things up and sent everyone to overtime.
No one managed to settle the score during the 3 on 3 action and a shootout was necessary to declare a winner. Fittingly, it's Ilya Kovalchuk who had been booed all game long by the New Jersey fans who gave the Habs the win while Lindgren was solid and stopped all 3 of the Devils' shooters (even though Gusev more or less dropped the puck on his attempt). That being said, it wasn't a stellar performance for the net minder finished the night with a .833 save percentage.
For a rare time lately, Max Domi spent over 19 minutes on the ice and while he definitely didn't play his best match (taking yet another dumb penalty), he did work hard, earned an assist, took 4 shots and had a 60% success rate in the face off dot. Only Kovalchuk and Danault played more than he did.
That being said, the win doesn't change much standings wise and in this lost cause, people almost feel weird for wanting a win... The Habs will be back in action Thursday night when the Ducks will be the visitors at the Bell Centre. It will be interesting to see if the Habs will have beaten the flu by then...
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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