Happy Birthday Sidney Crosby!
Entering Saturday’s game, the Penguins were 4-2 when facing elimination under coach Mike Sullivan. In a shocking change, coach Sullivan gave Tristan Jarry the nod in net with Matt Murray on the bench in the backup role. Jared McCann drew back into his slot on the third line, making Sam Lafferty a healthy scratch yet again.
Montreal would once again be the home team, so Pittsburgh would be in their road white jersey’s. Rust slid into the slot with Sidney Crosby and Connor Sheary. Patric Hornqvist made the moved down to the Zucker-Malkin line.
This would be Tristan Jarry’s first start in net in the NHL playoffs. Sullivan most likely made this move to get his team to wake up as this was a do or die game for the Penguins. Centreman Alex Belzile made his NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens. Other than that, the Canadiens lineup remained the same with Carey Price in between the pipes. Jarry hadn’t played in four and a half months, minus an exhibition game.
The Canadiens got off to a quick start by shooting the puck early on in the first. Patric Hornqvist and Ben Chiarot already jabbed at each other with less than a minute into the game. The Penguins looked like a different team entering the game at Scotiabank Arena. They looked like they wanted the win and they had to keep this momentum up throughout the whole game.
Hornqvist shot the puck towards Price, but it rang off the goal post and bounced back out. As the first period went on, the energy of the Penguins seemed to subside, meanwhile, the two teams remained in a scoreless tie. At 14:31 of the first period, Evgeni Malkin got the game’s first penalty, being charged by the refs for high sticking. The Canadiens won the following face-off, but the shot was blocked by defensemen Chris Tanev.
They had more puck possession than the Canadiens did and Montreal were the ones on the penalty. During a run on the penalty kill, the Pittsburgh Penguins held the Canadiens to zero shots on goal. Other than the penalty, the opening period was uneventful.
Second Period – Can The Penguins Break The Ice?
The second period started with both teams knotted up at zero. The Penguins needed more net front presence to keep the Habs silent in the game’s middle frame. The Penguins did a fair amount of defending in their own zone which was a good start to set the tone for the period. Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby had a chance with a two-on-one rush, but Guentzel was forced to take the puck behind Carey Price where he passed to Crosby, but was stopped by Price.
With 8:24 left in the period, the Penguins were handed the power play, this being their first of the game. Pittsburgh went with their first power play unit of Justin Schultz, Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel and Hornqvist. Unfortunately, the Canadiens kept the puck in their zone, leading to them almost scoring a shorthanded goal.
This of course had it not been for Jason Zucker. At 15:38 of this period, Brian Dumoulin got the gate for holding. The Penguins held the Canadiens to zero goals and once again, managed to kill off the penalty. Again, this period was uneventful if you compare it to the last three games.
Third Period
Much like the second period, the final frame started STILL tied at zero. The Canadiens started off quickly, and piled a bunch of shots on net to break the tie. Jarry did an excellent job of stopping the puck and defending the net.
Once resumed, the Penguins get another power play chance with the top unit of Kris Letang, Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel and Hornqvist. Crosby rang one off the inside of the crossbar, but unfortunately, it didn’t count. Unable to convert on the power play, this returned the contest back to even strength.
With a little over five minutes to go, the game remained scoreless with back-and-forth hockey. The Canadiens then took a delayed penalty, and unfortunately for the Penguins, Artturi Lehkonen put Montreal ahead. He scored with 4:11 left in regulation, this breaking the ice as the clock died down. The game had been a lot less chippy with minimal checking than one would expect. Especially given the fact that it was a do or die game for one team.
With less than two minutes to go, Sullivan hadn’t pulled Jarry after a strong performance for the extra attacker. With less than 90 seconds remaining, Sullivan finally made the call and took Jarry out in hopes of adding offensively. Ben Chiarot tried to clear the puck out of his zone and the puck just missed for an empty net goal.
Shea Weber took a bank shot from 200 feet away and scored the empty net goal to solidify the 2-0 win. That would end Pittsburgh’s season, meanwhile, advancing the Canadiens to round one. Now, Montreal awaits the winner of the Flyers and Lightning who square off on Saturday.
Puck drop is scheduled to take place at 8:00pmET at Scotiabank Arena. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet One, Sportsnet 360, TVA Sports and NBC. It can also be heard via radio on 97.5 The Fanatic and 970 WFLA.