Jesse Ylonen Delivers Shootout Win for the Canadiens | RECAP: MTL @ SJS

Canadiens winger Jesse Ylonen scored the game-deciding goal in the sixth round of a shootout as Montreal beat the San Jose Sharks.

Author:
Rick Stephens
Publish date:
Nov 24, 2023 8:01 PM EST

GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs San Jose Sharks 2 | Final/SO

Montreal Canadiens defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-2 in a shootout. — © Rocket Sports

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards

15 Alex Newhook - 14 Nick Suzuki - 11 Brendan Gallagher
22 Cole Caufield - 28 Christian Dvorak - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson - 91 Sean Monahan - 17 Josh Anderson
55 Michael Pezzetta - 71 Jake Evans - 56 Jesse Ylonen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 52 Justin Barron
21 Kaiden Guhle - 27 Gustav Lindstrom
47 Jayden Struble - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic

Goaltenders

Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Mattias Norlinder, Jake Allen
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), David Savard (hand), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Arber Xhekaj (upper body), Jordan Harris (lower body)

Game Report

The afternoon matchup on Black Friday featured two teams tied for the fewest regulation wins (3 each) in the NHL. So it's quite fitting that the game took extra time to determine a winner.

After a strong start to the game, the Canadiens were under attack from the league's worst offense. They were fortunate to reach the first intermission locked in a 0-0 tie.

Mike Hoffman scored his fifth goal of the season to open the scoring five minutes into the third period. After a slow start to the season, it was Hoffman's fifth goal in the last five games. Celebrating his 34th birthday, the former Canadien played an inspired game at both ends of the ice.

William Eklund put the home team up by two goals just one second into a Sharks power play with Mike Matheson in the box for holding.

Johnathan Kovacevic scored his third goal of the season to narrow the deficit before the second period came to a close. Jayden Struble earned an assist, the first point of his NHL career.

Cole Caufield evened the score early in the third period with the two teams playing to a tie after regulation.

In the sixth round of a shootout, Jesse Ylonen made a slick move to deke Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, and fired the puck in the open cage for the game deciding goal.

The Canadiens leave San Jose with two points in a game they probably didn't deserve to win. The Sharks outshot their opponent for the first time in 20 games this season.

It was a difficult game for the third line of Sean Monahan, Josh Anderson and Tanner Pearson who were buried in 5-on-5 play.

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Canadiens Players of the Game

Jesse Ylonen - Ylonen ended the game with his shootout winner. The 24-year-old continues to show his impressive set of skills but doing so with a meagre allotment of ice time.

Cole Caufield - It was a two point game for Caufield who had a goal and an assist.

Juraj Slafkovsky - Slafkovsky set the screen for Kovacevic's goal and earned the primary assist on Caufield's goal..

Video Highlights

Post-game Quotes

Martin St. Louis

“[The win] is good for morale. It wasn't perfect, but we'll continue to correct our mistakes and try to improve."

"We had a very good start to the match, then we took a penalty (Mike Matheson) and we lost our rhythm. This is something we need to improve. We need to get back into the swing of things and get back to the things we do well."

Cole Caufield

"Of course it feels good to score one (goal.) For me, it's all about consistency."

Game Preview

Primeau Starts for Canadiens in Black Friday Matinee | PREVIEW: MTL @ SJS

Up Next

The Canadiens will head to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Saturday afternoon.

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