(Pittsburgh) The Canadiens had a roller coaster night Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena, but they were able to end a seven-game losing streak.
Anthony Richard broke the tie early in the third period, Samuel Montembeault made 39 saves and the Montreal Hockey Club beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4.
The Habs avoided reliving the same nightmare as the day before, when they allowed four goals against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period, en route to an 8-4 loss.
Once again, he quickly found himself trailing 2-0 on Tuesday. However, he was able to halt his rival’s momentum and even took a 4-2 lead before seeing the Penguins come back up the ante.
“I liked our response,” said head coach Martin St-Louis analyzing the game. We were down 2-0 and it was kind of the same scenario as yesterday (Monday). But we took control. »
Richard scored the winning goal 3:05 into the final period, on a breakaway. Montembeault took care of the rest, he who was perfect against 11 shots in the third period.
“We had played very good games recently and sometimes we deserved a better fate, recalled St-Louis. Tonight, (the Penguins) dominated us at several times. Maybe we deserved less, but the result is important for the morale of the group. »
Joel Edmundson had a goal and an assist, while Denis Gurianov, Jesse Ylönen, Mike Hoffman and Josh Anderson also scored for the Canadian (27-35-6). Jonathan Drouin and Justin Barron each had two assists.
On the side of the Penguins (34-23-10), Jake Guentzel scored two goals and an assist and Kristopher Letang, a goal and two assists. Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist.
Tristan Jarry allowed four goals on seven shots in the first period. Casey DeSmith took over in net for the Penguins and stopped 13 shots.
Barron was back on the Canadiens’ roster after a six-game absence with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. Chris Wideman was left out.
The Penguins finished the game with just four defensemen. Jeff Petry did not return after the second intermission, while Jan Rutta fell in action early in the third period.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Thursday, when they visit the Florida Panthers.
An endless struggle
The Penguins quickly took control of the game, scoring twice in the first five minutes of play.
Guentzel got the ball rolling after 21 seconds, taking advantage of a loose puck in front of the net. Malkin then beat Montembeault at 4:49, on the power play, with a powerful one-timer shot.
The Canadian stayed in the game with a quick reply. Hoffman restarted the visitors just 32 seconds after Malkin’s goal. He completed a nice streak started by Barron and Rem Pitlick.
Ylönen tied the game at 7:13, surprising Jarry on the mitten side from the top of the slot. Gurianov then gave the Habs a 3-2 lead at 11:31, moments after a power play. He beat Jarry with a backhand after good efforts from Drouin and Alex Belzile.
Edmundson capped the Habs’ push by making it 4-2 with 11 seconds remaining in the first period. He hit home with a long one-timer shot.
The Penguins had a 17-4 shots on goal advantage in the second period and their efforts were rewarded twice.
Shortly after a spectacular save by Montembeault at the expense of Jason Zucker, Letang reduced the lead to a single goal at 10:57. His long shot surprised the Quebec goalkeeper, who never moved on the sequence.
Marcus Pettersson reached the post after a fine individual effort with about four minutes left in the second period.
Guentzel finally tied the game with 1:55 to go in the second period, hitting the mark on the power play. Another powerful one-timer from Malkin deflected off the shaft of his stick before shaking the strings.
However, Richard restarted the Canadian early in the third period and Montembeault took care of the rest. Anderson finished the Penguins by scoring in an empty net with 34.6 seconds left on the clock.
Locker Room Echoes
Justin Barron underlined the calm displayed by the Canadian despite the poor start to the game.
“Nobody panicked. They scored two quick goals, but we continued to build our game. We responded well in the first half and that kept us off the hook for the rest of the game. »
Anthony Richard was happy to be able to contribute to the victory.
“With the score tied, we knew the fourth line wouldn’t have much playing time. Every time we were on the ice, we first wanted to avoid giving up a goal while trying to create chances. To have scored is doubly good. I’m happy for me. I had had a lot of chances since my recall (from the Laval Rocket) and I’m glad the puck got in the net. »
Jonathan Drouin wanted to talk about the good collective work in the defensive zone at the end of the game.
“After Richard’s goal, we wanted to avoid turnovers and not give them easy chances. We kept it simple and it worked. »