Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on how tight Laval's playoff race has become. GAME RECAP | MONTREAL CANADIENS 2 VS EDMONTON OILERS 3 | FINAL/OT CANADIENS LINEUP Forwards 22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky 89 Joshua Roy - 15 Alex Newhook - 40 Joel Armia 11 Brendan Gallagher - 71 Jake Evans - 17 Josh Anderson 55 Michael Pezzetta - 36 Colin White - 49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard Defensemen 8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle 72 Arber Xhekaj - 58 David Savard 54 Jordan Harris - 26 Johnathan Kovacevic Goaltenders Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau Out of the lineup Scratches: Jesse Ylonen, Jayden Struble, Tanner Pearson Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Christian Dvorak (upper body) ROCKET HOCKEY REPORT [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il_ivJDNpXc[/embed] GAME REPORT This matchup started in a feisty manner fueled by Canadiens fans who populated Rogers Place in large numbers wearing red. Just 2:29 into the contest Michael Pezzetta dropped the gloves with Sam Carrick. Pezzetta prolonged the bout but Carrick finished strong for the clear victory. With the pleasantries out of the way, the Oilers got down to business where it counted taking advantage of turnovers and some shoddy defensive play. With goals by Connor McDavid in the first period and Adam Henrique in the second, Edmonton entered the third frame with a 2-0 lead. But just 32 seconds into the period, Nick Suzuki struck for his 27th goal of the season. It marked a career high for the 24-year-old captain. Just over four minutes later, Kaiden Guhle broke in alone and fired a shot that beat Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard. Guhle was set up by a brilliant pass from Jake Evans to tie the game. With 28 seconds left in the third period, Joel Armia was sent off for a double minor for high sticking. It was the correct call but an unfortunate penalty as Armia's stick caught Henrique as the Canadien was engaged with Evander Kane. The Oilers power play continued into overtime where Leon Draisaitl broke the tie firing a one-timer past Sam Montembeault. GAME STATISTICS Canadiens (25-31-12) Shots: 25 Face-off %: 58.8 Power play: 0/3 Penalty minutes: 15 Hits: 26 Blocks: 21 Oilers (41-21-4) Shots: 32 Face-off %: 41.2 Power play: 1/5 Penalty minutes: 11 Hits: 28 Blocks: 20 SCORING SUMMARY Canadiens Scorers 1st period: -- 2nd period: -- 3rd period: Suzuki (27), Guhle (5) OT: -- SO: -- Oilers Scorers 1st period: McDavid (26) 2nd period: Henrique (19) 3rd period: -- OT: Draisaitl (34)-PPG SO: -- Goaltenders MTL: Montembeault (OTL) 13-12-7 EDM: Pickard (W) 10-4-0 CANADIENS PLAYERS OF THE GAME Jake Evans - Evans recorded an assist in over 20 minutes of ice time, including 6:02 on the penalty kill, by far, the most of any Canadiens player. Evans was also 67 percent at the faceoff dot. Kaiden Guhle - Guhle scored his fifth goal of the season in his hometown. Guhle also blocked four shots in the game in almost 24 minutes of ice time. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN4iC1zt-ls[/embed] POST-GAME QUOTES Jake Evans "This one stings a lot but we got to look back at this game eventually and see all the good stuff: going against a Stanley Cup contender and taking them right to the very end." Kaiden Guhle "We're playing against basically every top team in the league recently and we're playing them hard. And again, that was another game I didn't feel we were out of it for one second. It felt like we deserved a better fate again." Trevor Letowski on Kaiden Guhle "He answered the bell tonight. He was sharp from the start, his compete level was through the roof and obviously scored the big goal for us as well so that's a big night for a young player." UP NEXT The Canadiens continue their five game Western road trip in Vancouver on Thursday night facing the Canucks. Game time is 10:00 pm. EDT. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue! [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk3MTk4Mzc0MTE4Nzc2/hockeynewsad.jpg] The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue!
