Hidden Game: Slafkovsky turnover leads to tying goal, Canadiens lose Game 2 in OT
You love him until … you don’t.
It took Juraj Slafkovsky slightly more than 48 hours to go from hero to goat for the Canadiens.
You loved him on Sunday, when his — including the winner in overtime — propelled the Canadiens past Tampa Bay in the opening game of the teams’ playoff series.
Tuesday night at Benchmark International Arena, however, not so much.
It was Slafkovsky’s third-period turnover — a blind pass into the middle of the ice — that resulted in a turnover and, eventually, Nikita Kucherov’s tying goal with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation time. The Lightning then won it, almost 13 minutes into overtime, on a goal by defenceman J.J. Moser to tie the best-of-seven series.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget Slafkovsky, selected first overall in 2022, is only 22. He’ll learn.
But wait, there’s more: Slafkovsky was far from the only Canadiens culprit on this night. Kirby Dach simply had to take one more stride in overtime to avoid an icing call. He didn’t. That’s totally unacceptable. The Lightning scored the winning goal off the ensuing faceoff in Montreal territory.
And we’re not finished yet: How in thunderation does a team go 12 minutes and 48 seconds of overtime without producing a shot on net? This is the NHL, for crying out loud.
Faceoff of the night: Anthony Cirelli beat Nick Suzuki. Six seconds later, Moser scored his first career playoff goal.
Animal Farm: Open ice was created for Moser following what appeared to be a pick play by Kucherov on Dach. Kucherov scored 44 goals and 130 points this season and, in Gary Bettman’s NHL, rules don’t appear to apply to him. In the first period, Kucherov hit Josh Anderson from behind on a play. Anderson didn’t have the puck. No penalty was assessed. In the second period, Kucherov knocked the stick out of Anderson’s grasp. No penalty was assessed. We also detected a nice dive by Kucherov — worthy of a 9.8 score from the Olympic judges — that resulted in a hooking penalty against Kaiden Guhle. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others in George Orwell’s brilliant novel and Bettman’s NHL.
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Dope of the night: Scott Sabourin spent all game trying to get under Anderson’s skin — without success. He spoke to the veteran early in the game, while awaiting a faceoff, clearly looking to fight. Then, late in regulation time, he blindsided Anderson, drawing an interference penalty. Sabourin, who was making his series debut, has 73 NHL regular-season games to his credit over six seasons, including 26 this season. He scored one goal, added four assists and had 89 penalty minutes while averaging 7:57 of ice time.
These guys aren’t choir boys either: Alex Newhook got away with a stick to the face of Dominic James in overtime. James was cut to the mouth. No penalty was assessed.
Sometimes it’s just not meant to be: In the final minute of the third period, while Sabourin was penalized, Lane Hutson hit the post.
The last line of defence: Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes deserved a better fate. It was impossible for him to stop Kucherov’s wraparound goal. He faced nine shots in overtime — and 34 in total — until Moser scored, and did everything but stand on his head. His save percentage was .912.
News you need (Part I): This was the 89th career playoff win for Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, tying him with Glen Sather.
News you need (Part II): Cole Caufield, who scored 51 times this season, has yet to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. He was held to one shot on Tuesday. His goal differential was minus-2. Caufield had two shots on Sunday.
News you need (Part III): That was some first period on Tuesday. It took 47 minutes to be played and the teams combined for 32 penalty minutes — 18 by Tampa Bay. Somehow, the boys settled down from there.
Down goes Frazier: Slafkovsky doesn’t fight often, but he dropped the gloves against Brandon Hagel in the second period. Slafkovsky scored early, but fell from an overhand right, arising immediately. Give Hagel the split decision.
Sometimes, shots are overrated: Tampa Bay didn’t register its first shot until 8:40. History will note the shot, from Hagel, beat Dobes.
Good things happen when you go to the net: Anderson’s go-ahead goal in the second period — his second in as many games.
Pass of the night: Phillip Danault to Anderson.
News you need (Part IV): Kucherov’s goal was his first in 17 playoff games, dating to April 18, 2023 against Toronto. Some guys are made for the regular season. Some are made for the playoffs. We’ll let you figure out which category fits Kucherov.
And speaking of playoff players: Corey Perry — who could play for our team any time — brushed Dobes early in the third period. We’ll go out on a limb and suggest it was deliberate.
Next time, decline the penalty: Tampa Bay went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Quick stats: Suzuki, Slafkovsky and Guhle were all minus-2. Slafkovsky did have two shots and two hits. Anderson had four shots and five hits. Hutson played an incredible 32 minutes, had six shots and blocked two others. Alexandre Texier had four hits. Alexandre Carrier had three hits and blocked four shots. Arber Xhekaj, despite playing only 9:05, had four hits and one blocked shot. The Canadiens won 47.9 per cent of their faceoffs while outhitting the Lightning 43-34.
They said it: “They played harder than us a little bit,” Dobes told the media in Tampa. “I felt like their back was against the wall. It showed. They really wanted it. Good for them. Everyone on our team has to be better. I’m really excited to show our game at home to them, what we can do. It’s a good series. I’m excited for Friday.”
“I’m sure they weren’t happy how the last game went,” Guhle said. “I’m sure they didn’t want to go down 2-0 at home, coming back to Montreal. I expected that physicality in the first. We stuck together. We don’t back down from that stuff.
“Both games could have gone either way,” Guhle added. “It sucks right now, but I don’t think we played a bad game at all. Overtime got away from us a little bit and we were on our heels a little bit. There’s was nothing in our game I didn’t like. They’re a good team. I don’t think anyone thought we were going to sweep them.”
“We needed more poise,” head coach Martin St. Louis said. “We defended the whole third (period) and I felt we did a really good job the first two periods. But it just got away from us. That’s a good team and when you keep giving them the puck, you’re rolling the dice a little bit.”
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