About Last Night: Canadiens take series lead, but where’s the first line?
Defenceman Lane Hutson scored the winner at 2:09 in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 on Friday night at the Bell Centre.
With the win, the Canadiens have taken a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven, first-round series.
Kirby Dach had a rough end to Game 2, to the point where he received threats online, but coach Martin St. Louis showed faith in the forward, and that faith was rewarded with a two-point performance. It was arguably his best-ever performance in four seasons with the Canadiens.
St. Louis actually put three struggling forwards on the same line — Dach, Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc — and the three responded with two points apiece.
But first, the opening ceremony featuring Hall of Famer Yvan Cournoyer carrying the torch into the building.
The Habs were buoyed by the animated home crowd early. Texier opened the scoring at 4:53 of the first period after two slick passes from Bolduc and Dach.
Goaltender Jakub Dobes took not just one, but two penalties on the night. He paid the price for the first one, with the always-dangerous Brayden Point breaking out from a quiet opening two games with the tying goal.
In the second period, forward Brandon Hagel continued to be a thorn in Montreal’s side. He scored his fourth goal of the series, and taunted the opposing side afterwards by making a shush motion in reference to quieting the Bell Centre crowd. In Game 2, he made sleeping motions after dropping Juraj Slafkovsky in a fight.
The Canadiens have preferred playing from behind all season, and that didn’t change last night. Down 2-1 toward the end of the second period, Dach fired a shot through traffic that beat Andrei Vasilevskiy and found the back of the net. All tied up after 40 minutes.
After the vitriol Dach took online after his Game 2 gaffe, not only did his coach come to his defence, but so did the Bell Centre faithful. They chanted his name after his game-tying goal.
The Canadiens got three breakaways during the game. Josh Anderson ran out of space, Ivan Demidov was stopped by Vasilevskiy, while Cole Caufield, who has not yet scored in these playoffs after a 51-goal regular season, had a glorious opportunity in the third period but fanned on the puck.
While the Canadiens could use some offence from their star trio of Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Slafkovsky, they didn’t need them in Game 3. Sixty minutes solved nothing, so the teams went to overtime for a third straight game.
Tampa Bay was dominant in Game 2 in the extra period, but the Habs turned the tables on home ice. Less than three minutes in, Hutson fired a point shot through traffic that Vasilevskiy never saw. Hutson’s shooting has come a long way since his rookie season. And who was on the ice for the winner? The Dach line once again, wreaking havoc in front of the net.
The Canadiens are up 2-1 in the series with another game on home ice this Sunday and a chance to take a commanding lead, but how worried should they be that the top line was held off the scoresheet at even-strength for a third straight game?
Even on home ice with last change, Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky couldn’t seem to find any extra ice to play with. And while they contributed to four goals with the man-advantage in Games 1 and 2, they went 0-for-4 on the power play on Friday.
The Liveblog commenters on the Hockey Inside Out YouTube livestream said no more overtimes after three nail-biters, but these teams are so evenly matched, it seems inevitable the series will come down to the final goal. Then again, if the top line can start scoring again, the Habs may discover another gear.
Obviously the Dach line dominated the Game Score, but what about Arber Xhekaj’s efficiency in 10:40 of ice-time? He was +2, had eight hits and got his first career playoff point. He’s coming into his own as a playoff-type performer.
Here’s what the Liveblog commenters had to say about last night’s win.
3. Who does Hutson think he is?? Sheldon Souray!!!
2. Dach should have gotten into a fight so he could have had his own Gordie Howe hat trick. Shut Hagel up.
1. A very nice surprise. We have home ice advantage, don't give it back.
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