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Game 9: Canadiens vs Wild AKA Coming up Short |
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The Wild hadn't played since last Thursday when the CH beat them 4-0 in Montreal and since then, they had a player only meeting to try and sort themselves out....looks like it worked. They came out flying of the game and dominated the first period with 19 shots... yes 19 shots. Kinkaid only surrounded one goal during those 20 minutes and he kept the Canadiens in it. Unfortunately for him though, Lehkonen got a four minute high stick penalty and the Wild were able to convert on it. There were still some good things in the first, namely Suzuki reading the play really well and feeding Weber in all alone in front of the net even though he wasn't able to bury it. Fleury also joined the attack at times and looked menacing but he remained on the hunt for his first goal...no urgency yet, he's got about 120 games to go before he's been trying to score for as long as Mete. That being said, he did suffer some brain cramps with a giveaway and a bumping of Kinkaid during the same shift...growing pains as they say. After 20, the Wild had taken 19 shots to the Canadiens' 7.
True to form, the red, white and blue came out stronger in the second frame and were awarded a power play not even two minutes in. Tomas Tatar scored the Canadiens' first goal off a Jeff Petry rebound in a rather nice and easy fashion. 16 seconds later, Phil Danault scored to put the Habs in front for the first time and Paul Byron finally got his second point on the year on that play. Kinkaid then took everyone's breath away with a monster of a save:
Even Carey Price was impressed:
Unfortunately, the Wild scored with 15 seconds to go in the second... The Canadiens were able to kill a Ben Chiarot penalty but when it expired, he rejoined the play and the Habs were stuck in their zone for much too long...no one knew where to go and what to do and it was only a matter of time before the Wild could tie things up. It was a shame really, the penalty kill did great work but it was just out of gas when the Wild made it 2-2 in the dying seconds of the 2nd frame. After 40 minutes, the Wild had 28 shots to the Habs' 19 and both team were tied 2-2.
At the start of the 3rd frame, Philip Danault scored his second goal of the game off a Gallagher pass (which was Gally's 300th career point) when the puck deflected on his pants. It wasn't the prettiest of goal but it counted and at that stage, it was 3-2 Habs and it was time to move in for the kill...
In the first 6 minutes of the 3rd period, the shots were 7-0 Canadiens but unfortunately, Paul Byron took a penalty deep in the offensive zone and the tables turned. Yes, I know...it looked like his stick was stuck and he couldn't do anything to avoid the call and it was good old Chris Lee officiating the game but still, a good team finds a way to win. It only took a few seconds of power play for Brad Hunt to make it 3-3 and a little over 4 minutes later, Parise scored the game winning goal off a quick counter attack. The Canadiens go home with 2 points out of a possible 4 and really, should we be surprised? The Canadiens have not won in Minnesota since March 20th, 2011... Talk about a loooooooong drought. Should Joel Armia be ready to come back on Thursday, who do you reckon should sit out? The current 4th line of Cousins-Thompson-Suzuki is doing rather well... Could that spell trouble for Byron?
The Tricolore will be back on the ice on Thursday when they'll host the Sharks at the Bell Centre. Until then, the players will have a day off tomorrow before hitting the ice on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brossard and greeting fans at the Evenko Blood Drive at the Bell Centre Wednesday. If you are able to give blood, you may want to attend this event. From 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Hema Québec staff will be on hand to receive your donation and in return, you'll get to meet the players and receive some autographs. If you've never given blood, make sure to check Hema Québec's website to check if you are eligible to give blood (if you've visited certain countries lately, you might not be) and bring a list of the medication you are currently taking along with you at the Bell Centre. Once you've donated blood, the Habs will thank you with 2 hot dogs, chips and a soft drink meal and you'll be able to stick around for the rest of the day should you wish to do so to meet more players, legends, RDS and Evenko staff.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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