As his season comes to a close, the Canadian was unable to play with the same sense of urgency as his opponent in the heart of the playoff race on Thursday night at UBS Arena, and he ultimately lost for the fourth time in five outings ( 1-3-1).
Kyle Palmieri ruled in overtime and the New York Islanders defeated the Montreal team 3-2.
Palmieri surprised goalie Samuel Montembeault 1:17 into the overtime period. He was right on target with a high shot, over the goalkeeper’s left shoulder.
“I was on my knees. I was perhaps expecting a pass towards the slot, but he took a good shot,” noted Montembeault.
“I tried to get up, but the puck still went over my shoulder,” he added. Hats off to him! He threw a good shot. »
The Canadian defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 9-3 on Tuesday at the Bell Center. This time, he was not able to reduce the points harvest of the Islanders, who cling to third place in the Metropolitan section.
“They were better than us,” admitted forward Brendan Gallagher. We tried to play with the same sense of urgency, but we couldn’t do it. »
“They were the first on the puck. They created more scoring chances and they were always on us in coverage,” he continued.
Cole Caufield collected a goal and an assist, while Jordan Harris also hit the target for the Canadian (30-36-13). Samuel Montembeault stopped 28 shots.
The Canadian now has a record of 17-11-13 this season in games that end with a single goal difference.
“I like the fact that we find ourselves in this scenario more often than last season,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis.
“We couldn’t execute plays tonight like we’re capable of,” he added. Our execution was there from time to time, but not with enough consistency. »
Mike Matheson had an assist. He thus became the first Canadian defender to reach the 60-point plateau in a season since PK Subban in 2014-2015.
Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas scored in regulation for the Islanders (37-27-15), who won a sixth straight game. Adam Pelech had two assists and Semyon Varlamov stopped 12 shots. The Islanders lost the services of defenseman Noah Dobson after just three appearances in the first period.
The Canadian will play his next game on Saturday, when he visits the Ottawa Senators.
Tight game
Nick Suzuki got the first quality scoring opportunity when he escaped just over nine minutes into the game. However, he was unable to slip the puck between the pads of Varlamov, who was trying to spear the puck. Montembeault stood out a few moments later, stopping a point-blank shot from Cizikas.
The Canadian opened the scoring with 2:02 left in the first period. Harris hit the mark with a precise one-timer. Juraj Slafkovsky obscured Varlamov’s view of the sequence.
Joel Armia had a golden opportunity to double the Canadian’s lead before the end of the first period. Varlamov, however, made a nice save with his mitt.
The second period was the affair of the Islanders, who had a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal. Mathew Barzal came up against Montembeault at the start of the period, when he found himself alone in front of the Canadian goalkeeper on the right flank. Bo Horvat then hit the crossbar a little later.
Engvall finally tied the game 1-1 at 5:17. He took advantage of the confusion in the Canadian’s defensive coverage after he recovered the puck and returned to the slot. He beat Montembeault with a precise shot from the glove side.
Montembeault kept the Canadian in the game with a few good saves before the second intermission. He frustrated Brock Nelson, then Engvall on the return, during a two-on-one attack from the Islanders. He also benefited from the help of Slafkovsky, who blocked a shot from Pelech while the Quebec goaltender was in a vulnerable position.
The Canadian regained the lead after 3:42 of play in the third period. Caufield scored his 25e goal of the season after receiving a pass from Johnathan Kovacevic.
Islanders forward Matt Martin suffered an injury when he was hit by a shot from Slafkovsky earlier in the sequence. Martin did not return to the game afterward.
The Islanders responded at 6:30. Pelech missed the target with the backhand, but Cizikas recovered the return and surprised Montembeault by rounding the back of the net. Armia wasted another opportunity for the Canadian during a two-on-one shorthanded attack.
Palmieri finally played the hero in overtime.