(Montreal) Head coach Martin St-Louis said before Thursday’s game that he had a good feeling. He couldn’t help but smile when he was reminded of it after the loss to the Canadiens.
John Klingberg broke the tie midway through the third period by scoring his second goal of the game and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Montreal club 5-2 at the Bell Centre.
The Ducks, who had been shut out in their last two outings, won only their second game in regulation this season.
“It was a lack of execution in the first half and too many passengers. That’s not bad, ”summed up St-Louis after the game.
The Canadiens were 0-for-20 on the power play in their previous five games. He finally put an end to this drought in the third period, helping himself to overcome a two-goal deficit.
The Ducks, however, had the last laugh.
“We sometimes have good moments, but we have to generate more chances,” St-Louis said of the power play. We have confidence in having players who can deliver the goods. We just didn’t. »
Cole Caufield scored both goals for the Canadian (14-14-2), who has only two wins in his last seven games (2-4-1). Jake Allen stopped 27 shots.
Troy Terry, as well as Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano in an empty net, also scored for the Ducks (8-20-3). Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish each had two assists, while Lukas Dostal made 23 saves.
Forward Rem Pitlick had been inserted into the Canadiens’ lineup, taking over from Michael Pezzetta.
The Habs fell to 0-3 when he wears his powder blue “reverse retro” jersey.
The Canadiens will play one last home game in 2022 on Saturday, when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Center. He will play his next seven games abroad.
A lame duck
Dostal was the first to report after just over four minutes of play. He was alert when Kirby Dach tried to take advantage of a loose puck in the slot after being hit by a shot from teammate Chris Wideman.
Although stoppages were rare in the middle of the period, the chances of scoring were just as rare.
The Ducks finally opened the scoring on a power play, with 2:32 to go in the first period. Terry deflected a perfect Zegras snap between Allen’s pads.
Klingberg came back 28 seconds later, also beating Allen between the pads, but from the slot.
The second half wasn’t particularly exciting either. Allen made the finest save of the engagement about eight minutes into the game, when he stretched the pad to frustrate Henrique after a turnover from Caufield behind the Habs net.
The first three power plays of the Canadian had not been successful until then, but it was with one more man that the Habs restarted after 3: 11 of play in the third period. Caufield completed a great game started by Nick Suzuki, Jonathan Drouin and Kirby Dach.
Caufield brought everyone back to square one by tying the game 2-2 at 6:37 of the third period. This time, he collected a loose puck behind the net after an off-target shot from Johnathan Kovacevic, then outspeeded Dostal.
Alternately, Jason Megna and Kevin Shattenkirk came within inches of restarting the Ducks, but their shot hit the post.
Instead, Klingberg put the Ducks back in front with 9:05 to go. His long shot deceived the vigilance of Allen, who was hampered in his work by contact with his defender Jordan Harris.
Henrique scored an insurance goal into an empty net with 1:28 to go. Vatrano completed the scoring with 8.9 seconds to go.
Locker Room Echoes
Nick Suzuki admitted the Canadian got what he deserved.
“We didn’t play well enough to win. We knew we had to start the game well and work hard. We let each other down. We had a bad game and we can’t let that happen. »
Cole Caufield refused to see too many positives in the Habs’ comeback in the third period.
“We found our game a bit and our aggressiveness. But we had nothing more to lose. We can see that as a positive element, but it does not change the final result. »
Jonathan Drouin admitted that it was still a power play goal that launched the opponent.
“Yes, the special units continue to hurt us. We need to look at this more closely. But even at five against five at the start of the match, we couldn’t play as we usually do. »