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Canadiens Edge Out Golden Knights in Overtime Showdown
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- Canadiens Edge Out Golden Knights in Overtime Showdown
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night, hoping to right the ship which has run aground on a few occasions in January.
It was an exciting game that necessitated overtime, where the Habs finally emerged with a 3-2 win.
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Let's dive into the highlights!
Pinching Problems
It's rather clear the Canadiens have told their defencemen to drive the offence as often as possible, but there are some situations that simply aren't suitable for a pinch.
Alex Carrier's decision to drive low, without any chance of a player covering for him, was a perfect example. Ideally, Jakub Dobes would have saved the shot that occurred after the bad play, but there was no reason that Vegas should have enjoyed a high-danger chance while the Canadiens controlled the puck in the offensive zone.
For the record, Dobes went on to have a great game, stopping 32 of the 34 shots sent his way.
Offside Review Strikes, Again
It appeared that Cole Caufield had tied the game on the powerplay, but the worst rule in the history of modern sports came to the rescue, erasing his play from the scoreboard.
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You see, despite the fact that the Canadiens did score a powerplay goal, someone was a fraction of a millimetre offside almost a complete minute before the puck found its way to the back of the net.
To be accurate, the offside, which was anything but clear in the replay, took place 56 seconds before the goal.
56 seconds.
That's enough time for six overtime goals via Brian Skrudland.
It's even enough time to eat three entire Cinnabons, if you have no shame. Or so I heard, anyhow.
Go ahead and set a timer for 56 seconds, and then wait it out.
Once the time elapses, let me know if you consider it a reasonable time frame for an offside review.
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It is a terrible rule that actively destroys any semblance of momentum, not to mention the speed for which hockey is known.
It was put in place to rectify blatant mistakes, not erase perfectly good goals from history.
Danault Offence, In This Economy?
The good news for the Canadiens is that they were controlling the shots and quality scoring chances, despite the 1-0 Golden Knights lead.
Phillip Danault, who had a great first period from a statistical standpoint, made a great tip on a Zachary Bolduc shot early in the second period, tying the game at 1-1 in the process.
Caufield Won't Be Stopped
Even though the worst rule in hockey robbed Caufield of his 30th goal of the year, there was no review available to stop him in the second period.
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Caufield took advantage of a nice play by Noah Dobson to tuck the puck behind Akira Schmid . The goal put Caufield on pace for 47 markers this season, which would be a new career high for the hottest American goalscorer in the NHL.
Is This A Rerun?
The Habs attempted to coast on their one-goal lead, a strategy that rarely works out in the NHL. They did the same on Saturday, leading to a frustrating loss to the Boston Bruins .
On Tuesday, the Golden Knights took over in the third period, inevitably scoring the game-tying goal with less than four minutes left in the frame.
Unlikely Hero
While the Habs failed to score during an overtime powerplay, they did manage to win the game thanks to Jake Evans ' sixth goal of the year.
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It was his first game-winning goal of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time, as a loss would have deeply demoralized the Canadiens.
Instead, they head into Thursday's game versus the Avalanche on a high, which should do wonders for their confidence.
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday, hosting the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick
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