After a first period as perfect as possible, everything fell apart for the Canadian, Saturday night at the Bell Center.
Alex Pietrangelo and Chandler Stephenson each scored one goal and one assist, Robin Lehner turned back 36 shots and the Vegas Golden Knights closed a two-goal deficit before beating the Montreal team 5-2.
The Canadian dominated the Golden Knights 20-1 in shots in the first period, securing a 2-0 lead in scoring. Everything collapsed afterwards.
The Golden Knights scored their first two power-play goals of the campaign and avenged their elimination at the hands of the Habs in the Stanley Cup semifinals last spring.
Nick Suzuki collected a goal and an assist, while Tyler Toffoli also moved the strings for the Canadian (3-10-0). Jake Allen stopped 13 shots.
Jonathan Marchessault, Dylan Coghlan and Brayden McNabb, in an empty net, were the other scorers for the Golden Knights (6-5-0).
The Golden Knights were however deprived including star strikers Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and William Karlsson. Not to mention Jack Eichel, obtained from the Buffalo Sabers earlier this week and who will have neck surgery.
This did not prevent visitors from climbing up the hill and winning.
In the Canadiens’ camp, Jonathan Drouin missed a second game in a row after being hit by a puck in the face on Tuesday, in a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Canadiens will play their next game on Tuesday, when they host the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Center.
From heaven to hell
Already well in control, the Canadian found himself with the wind in his sails following an inspired presence of the trio of Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia and Artturi Lehkonen in the offensive zone.
Dvorak got another good chance to score a few minutes later in a redundant attack, but he missed the mark.
The Golden Knights finally took their first, and only, shot on goal of the first period after 10:58 of play. The Canadian closed the line-up with a 20-1 advantage in that regard.
The Habs transformed this advantage into a 2-0 lead in scoring. Suzuki eventually beat Lehner on the power play with 2:42 left in the first frame. Suzuki enjoyed a comeback after two attempts by Mike Hoffman.
Toffoli then widened the gap with 1:11 remaining in the first period. The maverick hit the mark on a breakaway, thanks to a nice feint before shooting from the backhand.
The Canadian was unable to capitalize on another power play early in the second period, and then the Golden Knights turned the tide by beating Allen on their fourth, sixth and seventh shots of the game.
Pietrangelo got the ball rolling on the power play at 5:16 of the second frame, when his receiving shot grazed defenseman Jeff Petry before moving the ropes.
Marchessault then tied at 10:24, following a long presence of his trio in the Canadian territory.
Then, Coghlan gave the Golden Knights the lead by scoring in turn on the power play at 12:00 of the period.
The Canadian was unable to take advantage of a power play to regain momentum early in the third period. He never even managed to apply pressure on Lehner’s net consistently.
Stephenson and McNabb closed the books by scoring in an empty net with 2:51 and 34.9 seconds respectively to go on the clock.