The Canadian dominated his opponent at times and was ultimately rewarded with a victory.
Jonathan Drouin was the only one to hit the target in a shootout and the Montreal team ended a seven-game losing streak by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Thursday night in a no-spectator game at the Bell Center. .
Drouin got the strings moving with a quick wrist shot as the first player to jump into the session. At the other end of the ice, goaltender Cayden Primeau was perfect.
Primeau frustrated Cam Atkinson to end the game. He appeared to get injured, however, when Atkinson fell onto his back at the end of the streak.
The meeting was presented behind closed doors. The Canadian announced at 5 p.m. that he had accepted a request from Quebec Public Health not to admit spectators for the meeting due to the rise of COVID-19 in the Montreal region.
The Habs had a strong first period and worked well to come from behind in the last third.
Artturi Lehkonen and Laurent Dauphin scored in regulation time for the Canadian (7-21-3). Recalled from the Laval Rocket earlier in the day, Primeau repelled 37 shots in 65 minutes of play.
Max Willman and Jackson Cates scored the Flyers’ goals (11-12-5) before the tiebreaker. Carter Hart made 38 saves before the shootout.
Forward Jake Evans was back in the game for the Canadiens after missing two games with an injury, the nature of which has not been disclosed. He replaced Mathieu Perreault, withdrawn from training due to a lower body injury.
The Canadiens play their next game on Saturday, when the Boston Bruins visit the Bell Center.
A deserved result
For a rare time this season, the Canadiens seemed to take off thanks to some good work on the power play. Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman then knocked on the door.
Lehkonen finally opened the scoring at 5:20, deflecting a long shot from Brett Kulak.
The Canadian continued the momentum, but Hart kept the fort. The Flyers goaltender was particularly alert to frustrate Dauphin on a return throw.
However, the tide changed in the second period. Willman first tied the game after 2:20 of the game, beating Primeau on the mitt side from the slot.
The Flyers then took the lead with 59.3 seconds left in the second period. Cates hit the nail on the head in a redundant attack after a quick transition.
In the meantime, the Canadian had come up against Hart. He notably stopped four shots from Cole Caufield during the engagement, including a powerful receiving throw with his mitt.
The Flyers had the best chances in the first half of the third period, but Primeau kept the Canadiens in the game.
The Habs goalkeeper in particular frustrated Zack McEwen on a shot on reception at close range. He also redeemed a mistake by stretching the left pad to make the save at Willman’s expense.
The Canadian then managed to increase the pressure on the Flyers. Hart frustrated Drouin first, then Jesse Ylönen a bit later. But Dauphin ultimately tied the game with 5:39 left to take advantage of a comeback.
The Canadian survived a shortage in overtime. Then, Drouin finally decided in the shootout.