Hidden Game: Kirby Dach finds sweet redemption in OT win vs. Lightning
Lazarus has risen from the ashes.
Kirby Dach was given up for dead on Tuesday, when his overtime blunder started a chain of events that led to the Canadiens’ overtime loss at Tampa Bay in Game 2. And it would have been easy for head coach Martin St. Louis to bench the veteran when the best-of-seven series resumed Friday night at the Bell Centre.
But not only was Dach dressed, he contributed a goal and an assist in the Canadiens’ 3-2 overtime victory against the Lightning, giving Montreal a 2-1 series lead. And Dach found himself with new linemates — playing centre for the first time since November, in between Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier.
Texier had a goal and assist, while Bolduc contributed two assists. All three players had goal differentials of plus-3.
“You take that night — Tuesday night — and you maybe sit on it, dwell on it, understand what you could have done better,” Dach said post-game. “But come Wednesday morning, you’ve got to be able to move on. That’s where my mindset was. As a competitor … you want to be able to bounce back and put your best foot forward.
“As a competitor you want to have a chance to respond,” Dach added. “You want to go out there and prove your worth. This game’s hard. There’s a lot of mistakes out there. It’s not like everybody’s perfect. You’re not going to make the perfect play or perfect pass every time. You have to understand that and move on when it doesn’t go your way. You don’t want to cost your team that way. For me, there was never a doubt or waver in my confidence in myself. Or who I am as a player. You dig in deeper and come out fighting.”
News you need (Part I): Teams that take a 2-1 series lead have won 69 per cent of their best-of-seven series (396-178).
Random thought of the night: Only 14 more wins and the Canadiens will be Stanley Cup champions. They’ve already won one more playoff game than last season against Washington.
Sieve of the night: Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was beaten on the first overtime shot he faced, a howitzer to the stick side from Lane Hutson at 2:09. His save percentage was .897 and Vasilevskiy now has a 5-14 record since the start of the 2023 playoffs.
News you need (Part II): This marked the first time since the 1951 Stanley Cup final the Canadiens have gone to overtime in each of their opening three games. It also marks the eighth time in NHL history the first three games of a series have been decided in overtime.
News you need (Part III): The line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky is still seeking its first even-strength goal of the series. Suzuki had two shots on Friday, but Caufield and Slafkovsky only had one each.
Strange, but true (Part I): Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes, who took one minor penalty in 43 regular-season games, was assessed two minors in this contest. One was for tripping Yanni Gourde in the first period. Dobes also took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second against the notorious Nikita Kucherov — after Erik Cernak skated into the netminder.
Strange, but true (Part II): Ivan Demidov, Josh Anderson and Caufield all failed to capitalize on breakaways. Caufield’s opportunity came from centre ice. Dach also hit the crossbar in the first period.
Great moments in officiating (Part I): Dach’s first-period trip on Gourde happened while Dach was losing his stick.
Great moments in officiating (Part II): Ryan McDonaugh tripped Caufield in the same period. No penalty was assessed.
Great moments in officiating (Part III): Scott Sabourin hit Jake Evans from behind in the second period. No penalty was assessed.
Great moments in officiating (Part IV): After basically getting away with murder, the Lightning took three successive second-period minors over a span of 5:24. Somehow the phrase “make-up calls” comes to mind.
It’s always the stick’s fault (Part I): After Evans’s second-period giveaway was converted into Brandon Hagel’s fourth goal of the series, Evans decided to break his $400 stick against the goalpost.
It’s always the stick’s fault (Part II): Caufield fanned on his breakaway attempt. A 51-goal scorer during the regular season, Caufield has yet to score in the series.
It’s always the stick’s fault (Part III): A simple pass to Texier late in the second period resulted in a shattered stick.
Get out of the way: Dach’s goal deflected off McDonaugh.
Pass of the night: Texier to Hutson on the winning goal.
Next time, decline the penalty: The Canadiens went 0-for-4 on the power play.
Quick stats: Of the Canadiens’ 17 giveaways, Mike Matheson alone was guilty of four. Kaiden Guhle had four hits and blocked three shots. Alexandre Carrier blocked four shots. Anderson had four hits. Arber Xhekaj played only 10:40, but had a team-high eight hits and was plus 2. Hutson played 26:40 while blocking four shots. And although he weighs only 162 pounds, Hutson had three hits. Dobes’s save percentage was .882. The Canadiens won 45.8 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit the Lightning, 36-31.
They said it: “That might have been my first slap shot all year,” Hutson said. “I saw some space, lots of bodies and tried to shoot it as hard as I could and luckily it went in.”
“Three games going to OT in a row is pretty crazy,” Jayden Struble said.
“I thought it was (Dach’s) best game the whole season,” Suzuki said. “It’s fun to watch him when he gets going.
“I didn’t think (Hutson) could shoot it that hard,” he added.
“Did I take a penalty this year?” Dobes said. “I was trying to poke-check on the first one. I have a lot of respect for Kucherov. He’s probably one of my favourite players, skill-wise. He’s an unbelievable player. He tries to get into my head. I try to get in their head. It’s a battle. I don’t take anything from it. I don’t know what else to say.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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