(Pittsburgh) Bryan Rust and Drew O’Connor scored within 21 seconds of the second period and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
The Habs thus suffered a fourth loss in a row. He improved his record to 1-10-0 when he played a second game in as many nights.
Mike Matheson scored the only goal for the Canadian (22-27-8). Cayden Primeau stopped 23 shots.
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Kristopher Letang scored twice for the Penguins (25-21-8), including once in an empty net late in the game. Erik Karlsson had two assists, while Tristan Jarry made 31 saves.
Claimed from the Penguins on waivers earlier in the day, forward Colin White wore the colors of the Canadian. To make room for him in their training, the Habs placed striker Brandon Gignac on waivers.
Habs defender Jayden Struble did not finish the game. He barely returned to the locker room halfway through the third period and did not return to the game afterward.
The Canadian will play his next game on Saturday afternoon, when he visits the New Jersey Devils.
In the blink of an eye
The visitors started the match strong. Arber
Matheson finally opened the scoring for the Canadian after 9:05 of play. He intercepted a pass from Letang to Sidney Crosby at the Penguins blue line, then beat Jarry with a shot from the side of the shield.
However, the Penguins responded 2:19 later. This time, Letang scored moments after a Matheson turnover. Primeau was unable to stop his long shot from the point because his vision was blurred.
Brendan Gallagher came to Primeau’s rescue a few moments later, preventing Jansen Harkins from being able to push the puck into the opening after a partial save by the Canadian goalie.
Primeau also had some luck with just under a minute left in the first period, when Karlsson’s shot hit the post to his left.
Jarry made a good save early in the second period, while the Canadian was playing on the power play. He stretched his right arm to frustrate Cole Caufield after a cross pass from Juraj Slafkovsky.
Primeau once again took advantage of his luck a little later. This time, Valtteri Puustinen hit the post on a return.
The Penguins then took control of the game. Rust first hit the mark on the power play by deflecting a Karlsson shot past Primeau at 11:30. O’Connor came back 21 seconds later, beating Primeau on the side of the shield.
Joshua Roy knocked on the door early in the third period for the Canadian, but he came up against Jarry.
The Habs then squandered two numerical advantages. Slafkovsky had the best chance to score. However, Carter blocked his shot, depriving him of a sure goal.
Letang delivered the final blow by scoring into an empty net with 1:25 left on the clock.