The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens in a 12 round shootout at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night.
GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs Pittsburgh Penguins 4 | FINAL/SO
Canadiens Lineup
Forwards
22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
91 Sean Monahan - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson
11 Brendan Gallagher - 28 Christian Dvorak - 56 Jesse Ylonen
55 Michael Pezzetta - 13 Mitchell Stephens - 40 Joel Armia
Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 58 David Savard
21 Kaiden Guhle - 52 Justin Barron
47 Jayden Struble - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
Goaltenders
Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault
Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau
Out of the lineup
Scratches: Gustav Lindstrom, Jake Allen, Emil Heineman
Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body), Jordan Harris (lower body), Alex Newhook (lower body), Tanner Pearson (upper body)
Game Report
This contest wasn't decided until the 12th round of a shootout. And early on, the Canadiens had a choke hold on the game.
David Savard and Jayden Struble scored the first two goals of the game. Montreal is tied (with the Colorado Avalanche) for the most goals in the NHL by defensemen with 23.
In the first period, Montreal controlled the play, were outshooting the opposition and held leads of 2-0 and 3-1.
But as the game went on, familiar issues like turnovers, indiscipline and a sputtering power play gave the Penguins an opportunity to tie the score. It was the 11th time this season that the Canadiens game went beyond regulation.
Montreal was even gifted a man advantage in overtime but couldn't convert. That set up the 12-round marathon session ended with a goal from Penguins forward Jansen Harkins.
Pittsburgh received excellent goaltending from Alex Nedeljkovic. Overall, the Canadiens had 19 high dangers scoring chances, with the Penguins recording 10.
Watchalong Livestream (replay)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V0LDI4SZgc[/embed]
Game Statistics
Canadiens (12-13-4)
Shots: 42
Face-off %: 51.7
Power play: 1/4
Penalty minutes: 6
Hits: 12
Blocks:14
Penguins (13-12-3)
Shots: 30
Face-off %: 48.3
Power play: 2/3
Penalty minutes: 8
Hits: 24
Blocks: 15
Scoring Summary
Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Savard (1), Struble (2), Monahan (9)-PPG
2nd period: --
3rd period: --
OT: --
SO:
Penguins Scorers
1st period: Crosby (16)
2nd period: Guentzel (13)-PPG, Crosby (17)-PPG
3rd period:
OT: --
SO: Harkins: game-deciding goal
Goaltenders
MTL: Montembeault (OTL) 6-4-2
PIT: Nedeljkovic (W) 3-2-1
Canadiens Players of the Game
David Savard - Savard had three of the Canadiens first four shots on goal and scored his first goal of the season.
Nick Suzuki - With more than 26 minutes of ice time, Suzuki was the most utilized Canadiens forward assisting on Sean Monahan's goal.
Jayden Struble - Struble scored his second goal of the season on three shots on goal.
Jesse Ylonen and Michael Pezetta - Ylonen and Pezzetta each had one assist and a plus-2 rating in just seven minutes of ice time.
Video Highlights
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDonsrnSUBc[/embed]
Post-game Quotes
Marty St. Louis
"I liked a lot of things in the first half, but we were starting to shoot ourselves in the foot and we did it more often in the second. Overall, we played well enough to win, but when you shoot yourself in the foot like that, you leave the outcome of the match to luck."
Kaiden Guhle
"[Sidney Crosby] is still one of the best in the world and he’s shown it with the way he’s playing this season. He’s so difficult to play against around the net, but it’s still fun to play against him."
Up Next
The Montreal Canadiens will play their final game at the Bell Centre in 2023 on Saturday night as they host the New York Islanders.
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.
