A bad start undermined the Canadian’s chances on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena, but he came close to playing a trick on the leaders of the Pacific Division.
Newcomer Ivan Barbashev scored twice, Jonathan Quick stopped 25 shots in his first outing in his new uniform and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Montreal team 4-3.
Tenacious, the Canadian almost succeeded in overcoming a three-goal deficit in the third period. However, Quick stopped the bleeding in time.
“We got off to a bad start. We had no energy in the first period, recognized the head coach of the Canadian, Martin St-Louis. I liked how we finished second and took that to third. »
The Habs concluded their journey with a 1-3-0 record.
Mike Matheson, Alex Belzile and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard scored in the final period for the Canadian (26-33-4), who suffered a third loss in a row. Jake Allen made 24 saves.
Shea Theodore and Reilly Smith also scored for the Golden Knights (38-19-6), who won their third straight game.
Obtained from the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, defender Frédéric Allard was in uniform for the Canadiens, after being urgently recalled from the American Hockey League. He replaced Kaiden Guhle, who appeared to injure his shoulder Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
Allard was in just his second game in the NHL.
“For a defender, it’s good when the coach doesn’t notice it too much,” said St-Louis. He kept it simple and he played good minutes. »
The Canadiens will be back at the Bell Center on Tuesday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes.
too little too late
The Golden Knights’ fourth line set the tone for the game from the first sequence of the game and the home team did not let go during the first period.
Quick signaled himself for the first time by stopping a point-blank shot from Rem Pitlick.
The Golden Knights’ efforts were rewarded, as Theodore opened the scoring after 12:37 of play. He surprised Allen with a shot from the top of the crease after a scrimmage near the net.
Allen bounced back with two back-to-back saves against Michael Amadio and William Karlsson moments later.
The Golden Knights scored a second goal with 18.2 seconds left in the first period. Barbashev took advantage of a perfect snap from Jack Eichel, shortly after a Joel Edmundson clearance intercepted by Alex Pietrangelo.
The Canadian was more threatening in the second period and he managed to put Quick to the test.
The double Stanley Cup champion, however, closed the door in front of Josh Anderson and Jesse Ylönen.
A Denis Gurianov turnover led to the Golden Knights’ third goal at 7:20. Smith completed a nice rally with Karlsson on a two-on-one attack.
Anderson got a second golden chance when he escaped, but he missed the target.
Matheson finally eluded Quick’s vigilance after 2:05 of play in the third period, scoring after mocking Paul Cotter’s coverage.
The Golden Knights experienced a jolt of energy when shorthanded. Chandler Stephenson ran into Allen on a breakaway.
Moments later, with the teams evenly matched, a Nic Hague shot bounced twice, the second off Barbashev, before just crossing the goal line at 7:44.
True to form, the Canadian did not let go. Belzile beat Quick with a pinpoint shot 24 seconds later, then Harvey-Pinard cut the gap to just one goal at 8:42.
Quick then did what was necessary to preserve the lead of his team. He played luck at the very end of the game when a shot from Mike Hoffman hit the post.
Locker Room Echoes
Defender David Savard believes that the Canadian could take advantage of his trip, despite his record.
“We have always been in games. I’m happy with the effort. We can then build our concepts on that. »
Alex Belzile underlined how much the Canadian hoped to succeed in the comeback.
“We ran out of energy in the first half, but it was the last part of our trip and we still had fuel in the tank. We wanted to go up. The two goals gave us some momentum and there were still 10 minutes to play. We have given everything. »
Frédéric Allard pinched himself as the fact that there was no flight on Saturday to allow him to return to Montreal from Los Angeles contributed to his first appearance in the uniform of the Canadiens.
“It’s indescribable. When I arrived here, I had tears in my eyes. It was a dream to wear the Canadiens uniform. I have an uncle with the basement full of Canadiens items and with the Canadiens logo everywhere. It is a pride to wear the jersey of the Canadiens and represent the people of Montreal and Quebec. »