(Buffalo) Michael Pezzetta found the back of the net in the sixth round of shootout, and the Montreal Canadiens came to play spoilsport by defeating the Buffalo Sabers 4-3 Monday night.
Goalkeepers Jake Allen and Eric Comrie were unstoppable on the first three attempts before yielding to Jack Quinn and Jesse Ylönen respectively.
After failed attempts by Casey Mittelstadt and Dylan Cozens, for the Sabers, and Johnathan Kovacevic for the Canadiens, Pezzetta ended the argument with a sharp shot that beat Comrie on the stick side.
If this victory for the Canadiens only prolongs by one day, or perhaps two or three, the inevitable mathematical elimination of the next playoffs, it could seriously hurt the Sabers’ chances of qualifying there.
After a trough in the first period, Martin St-Louis’ men delivered a quality performance in the stronghold of an opponent who still hopes to participate in the playoffs.
Jordan Harris (4e), Alex Belzile (6e) and Brendan Gallagher (6e), in regulation time, beat Comrie who faced 39 shots. Gallagher’s goal was the 200e of her career.
In his first NHL game, Lukas Rousek scored a goal and added an assist. JJ Peterka (10e) and Riley Stillman (1er) thwarted the vigilance of Allen, who received 33 pucks.
The Canadian will be back in action tomorrow night when he visits the Philadelphia Flyers.
Quick responses
Twice, the Canadian took the lead in the game. Twice, the Sabers replied in time to say it.
Harris opened the scoring just 82 seconds into the game when he backhanded the return with his own shot after accepting a fine side pass from Jonathan Drouin.
Mike Matheson earned the other assist after a good foray into the offensive zone.
Less than two minutes later, Rousek scored his first career goal. He took advantage of a quick rebound from a shot from the blue line by Tyson Jost which had hit the ramp behind Allen’s net, to lodge the puck behind the Canadiens’ goalkeeper, who did not have time to react.
After a very ordinary first period, the Canadian was much better in the second half after which… he was down by one goal.
Belzile first broke the tie 1-1 at 4:28 of the period with a precise shot that crept over Comrie’s left shoulder.
This advance lasted even shorter than the first. On their fourth power-play opportunity, Peterka fired back 81 seconds later when he used Allen’s right shoulder to lodge the puck behind the goalie… from behind the Montreal net.
Less than three minutes later, Stillman gave the Sabers the lead for the first time of the night, after some great stickhandling and a nice fake to beat Allen.
From this point in the period, the Canadian raised the level of his game and missed several great scoring opportunities, including Mike Hoffman and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard late in the second period.
However, Gallagher would bring both clubs back to square one with a quality wrist shot at 8:35 of the third period.
During the additional period, the Canadian took advantage of a power play following a cross-check by Peyton Krebs on Kirby Dach with 2:40 to play in overtime.
Matheson had the best chance of that power play but saw his shot hit the post.
After the power play, in which he had participated, Dach returned to the locker room.
In details
Primeau and Farrell with the big club
The Canadiens recalled Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket. The goaltender touched down in Philadelphia on Monday and will face the Flyers on Tuesday night. With the Habs officially kicked out of the NHL playoff race, the organization clearly wants to see the young man in action in the big leagues. In his last 9 games with Laval, he posted a 2.33 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Sean Farrell will get to know his new teammates in the city of brotherly love. The freshly debauched striker from the university ranks should not play against the Flyers, however, as he has not yet taken part in any training in the blue-white-red uniform. Farrell signed a three-year deal with the CH on Sunday, his first contract in the NHL. He’s been dominant this season in the NCAA with Harvard University.
It doesn’t smell like the playoffs in Buffalo
Mathematically, the Sabers’ chances of reaching the playoffs still exist, albeit slim. Despite the point amassed on Monday, they have only nine games to reach and pass the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins or New York Islanders. Their task was complicated as Tage Thompson fell in battle. Injured in the “upper body”, the powerful attacker did not face the Habs, and despite the diversified resources of his team in attack, his absence was glaring. It was especially evident at five-on-four when Rasmus Dahlin, who was in possession of the puck at the blue line, had to wave Alex Tuch to the net so nothing was happening. Qualitatively either, it does not smell strongly of the playoffs in Buffalo. Thousands of seats in the KeyBank Center were empty, despite strong representation from CH supporters. In the first period, during a Sabers power play, we would have heard a fly fly. Nothing like a springtime frenzy, after all.
No rainbow sweater for Lyubushkin
The series of hiccups continues around Pride nights across the NHL. As the Buffalo Sabers highlighted their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community on Monday night, Ilya Lyubushkin skipped the warm-up, during which his teammates wore a rainbow-colored jersey -sky. The organization, on its behalf, invoked security reasons. Information has been circulating for a few weeks now to the effect that Russian players, fearing reprisals, are reluctant to show their support for the LGBTQ+ cause. A law promulgated in Russia provides for the prohibition of any “propaganda” on “non-traditional sexual relations”. However, it is not clear to what real consequences those who lend themselves to this “propaganda” are exposed, nor how it is defined.
Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press