The Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers squared off at Rogers Place for the second time in three days, looking to leave Alberta with a 2-0 sweep.
The first 10 minutes of the game was much like the first on Saturday night, seeing both teams go back-and-forth with a lot of speed, some great intensity and the Oilers actually looked much stronger in game two of the series.
Montreal would break open the scoring just 11 minutes into the frame, as Alexander Romanov would flick a wrist shot on net that trickled by Mikko Koskinen for his first NHL goal.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, that’s as good as things would get, as Montreal got into some penalty trouble, taking three straight penalties, which gave Edmonton an advantage. With a pair of five-on-three chances, Jake Allen, making his Habs debut, stood tall in the net, able to stymie the Oilers offence.
Montreal left the ice after 20 with a 1-0 lead heading into intermission. Despite entering the second frame on top, the Canadiens were outshot 12-6 by the Oilers. The second period was a penalty filled affair, as officials ended up calling five it looked as though the refs were making calls on everything.
Once again, special teams and solid goaltending kept the Habs up 1-0 until the latter part of the second. It was then Montreal’s lead was doubled with a power play goal off the stick of Shea Weber. With 10 seconds left on the clock, the defensemen would unleash a laser that would bounce off Koskinen and into the net.
However, the ref immediately waved off the goal due to an Edmonton Oiler being pushed in the goalie crease. That led to Claude Julien requesting a challenge, and upon further review, it was deemed a good goal, upping Montreal’s lead. As the clock died down the the buzzer sounded, that sae Canadiens up 2-0 after 40.
The third period was similar to the second, as more penalties started started piling up and both special team units and backstops were hard at work. 12 minutes into the period, Nick Suzuki was called for tripping, and on the ensuing play 15 seconds later, Artturi Lehkonen would lay it on the line and go on a two-on-one, beating Mikko Koskinen. This would give Montreal a 3-0 lead on the shorthanded goal.
Later in the final frame, the Oilers would go shorthanded themselves, with Joakim Nygaard watching on from the penalty box. That allowed Devin Shore to force a turnover created by Jonathan Drouin and go in on a breakaway, beating Jake Allen. Doing so low blocker side, this ended Allen’s shutout and put Edmonton on the board.
That’s as close as they would get, as the final whistle blew, followed by the game siren, allowing the Canadiens to win the game and sweep the series. Montreal successfully killed off seven penalties, meanwhile, Jake Allen made 24 saves in his debut. That would be his first win for the bleu, blanc et rouge in a Canadiens uniform.
The Habs now make the trip to B.C., where they will take on Vancouver at Rogers Arena. The first of a three-game series gets underway on Wednesday night against the Canucks. With puck drop scheduled for 10:00pmET, the game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Pacific, TSN2 and RDS. As well, the game can be heard on TSN 690 Montreal and Sportsnet 650.