Montreal Canadiens gave up two, one-goal leads losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime.
GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 2 vs Pittsburgh Penguins 3 | FINAL/OT
Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2.Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 17 Josh Anderson
20 Juraj Slafkovsky - 91 Sean Monahan - 40 Joel Armia
70 Tanner Pearson - 71 Jake Evans - 56 Jesse Ylonen
55 Michael Pezzetta - 82 Lucas Condotta - 49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle
47 Jayden Struble - 58 David Savard
54 Jordan Harris - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 34 Jake Allen
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Cayden Primeau, Arber Xhekaj
Suspension: Brendan Gallagher
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Alex Newhook (lower body), Christian Dvorak (upper body)
Game Report
Prior to the game, the Penguins honored forward Lars Eller who reached the 1000th game milestone of his 15-year NHL career. Eller played 435 games for the Montreal Canadiens.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring once the game got underway. Kaiden Guhle converted a cross-ice pass from Mike Matheson for his fourth goal of the season.
Early in the second frame it was Eller, who scored a very Eller-like goal driving to the net and burying a rebound leaving Matheson looking for the puck.
The Canadiens regained the lead when Juraj Slafkovsky beat Tristan Jarry for a power play goal after a nifty touch pass from Sean Monahan.
Coming into the game, Pittsburgh had just one win and 15 losses when trailing after 40 minutes. But that meagre comeback record did not apply in this game.
Jack Guentzel had a tap-in after an unreal pass from Sidney Crosby to tie the game in the third period.
Following a giveaway by Matheson in overtime, the Penguins broke out on a 2-on-1. Marcus Pettersson was focused on an apparent pass to Rickard Rakell but instead ripped a shot that found the back of the net giving Pittsburgh the overtime win.
The story of the game was a superb effort by Jake Allen. While the Penguins outshot the Canadiens 33-27, there was a huge difference in the quality of the shots. Pittsburgh had a 19-9 advantage in high-danger scoring chances (five-on-five.)
The Canadiens head into the All-Star break having lost four of their last five games.
Following the game, the club announced that forward Lucas Condotta was loaned to the Laval Rocket.
Game Statistics
Canadiens (20-21-8)
Shots: 27
Face-off %: 39.0
Power play: 1/1
Penalty minutes: 4
Hits: 23
Blocks:26
Penguins (22-17-7)
Shots: 33
Face-off %: 61.0
Power play: 0/2
Penalty minutes: 2
Hits: 23
Blocks: 4
Scoring Summary
Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Guhle (4)
2nd period: Slafkovsky (7)-PPG
3rd period: --
OT: --
SO: --
Penguins Scorers
1st period: --
2nd period: Eller (9)
3rd period: Guentzel (22)
OT: Pettersson (2)
SO: --
Goaltenders
MTL: Allen (OTL) 5-9-3
PIT: Jarry (W) 13-14-4
Canadiens Player of the Game
Jake Allen - Allen enjoyed another strong start keeping his team in the game when they were under siege but once again didn't get the goal support.
Nick Suzuki - Suzuki assisted on the power play goal by Juraj Slafkovsky and earned almost 22 minutes of ice time.
Video Highlights
Post-game Quotes
Martin St. Louis on Jake Allen
"He’s a veteran, a pro, a leader on our team. He played an excellent match tonight. I thought he played well Tuesday against [the Ottawa Senators]. I thought he deserved the start and he did the job."
Up Next
Many members of the Canadiens will have a brief vacation over the All-Star break. The team is next in action in Washington, D.C. as the Habs take on the Capitals on Tuesday February 6th.
Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.
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