Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on the Laval Rocket's performance against Hartford and a new franchise record set. GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 3 vs Pittsburgh Penguins 4 | FINAL/SO Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyODk0Nzk1OTYwNDkzMDY4/canadiens-final-score-11.png] Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3. 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 [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. A free issue of The Hockey News. [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyODg2OTkwMzk0MzY5MDky/img_6511.jpg] A free issue of The Hockey News.
