The Montreal Canadiens were looking to put the Pittsburgh Penguins on the brink of elimination while the Penguins were looking for their first playoff win in seven games.
Montreal got off to the fast start, getting several high chances to score the game’s first goal, but Matt Murray was on his game early. The Penguins would wake up and start attacking at the other end, but it was Price who would turn to make a good save.
Less than five minutes into the game, the Pittsburgh Penguins got the elusive first goal of the game when Sidney Crosby got a cross ice pass from Jake Guenztel and would put the puck five hole on Price.
A couple minutes later, Montreal would take an untimely penalty when they got called for two many men on the ice. They were able to kill it off, but then more penalties would be called for both clubs. Marcus Pettersson would get called for hooking, and a minute later, Joel Armia would got sent off for holding.
At the game’s 13 minute mark, Brett Kulak had a great chance to tie the game with a nice wraparound where he would shoot the puck top shelf, but the net would fall off its hinges, stopping play. The refs would take time to review it and the decision was made that it wasn’t a goal which resulted in a penalty. This would go to Brian Dumolin who was called for tripping.
There were so many penalties at one point that Montreal was on a four-on-three, but it didn’t last long as the Penguins were able to kill it. Montreal would get called again for another too many men on the ice, but the Penguins wouldn’t be able to solve Price to get on the board on the man advantage.
Montreal would start the second period with a great scoring chance, but this time, it was Matt Murray’s turn to slam the door shut and come up with a great save. That seemed to motivate the Penguins as they started chasing the other way to try and increase their lead.
The pace of the game was starting to heat up and we saw a lot of action after the whistle which brought out intensity that belonged to playoff hockey. Montreal would get the first power play of the period when Bryan Rust was then called for roughing.
Unfortunately, the man advantage didn’t help as they didn’t even manage a shot on goal during the power play. At the ten 10 minute mark of the period, Joel Armia got called for hooking and Montreal was once again a man down.
Carey Price, being one of the best goalies on the planet, would stand tall in net and was making some incredible saves to keep his team in the game. The Montreal Canadiens would manage to kill the penalty thanks to him.
Another six minutes later, the Habs and the Pens got into a scrum and Joel Armia got called for his second penalty of the game. As a result of this, Shea Weber and Evgeni Malkin both were charged with minors on the play. The penalties kept coming in and both teams were playing a brand of undisciplined hockey. On the very next play, Paul Byron would see himself off as he was sent to the box for slashing.
That penalty led to a five-on-three opportunity for Pittsburgh, but Montreal, as for the most of the night, was able to kill it off, returning to even strength. The Penguins, at this point, were 0 for 5 and a big reason why was Habs backstop Carey Price. They were starting to take control of the game just as the second frame would come to an end.
The third period would start with a flash for Montreal as right off the opening draw, Tomas Tatar would run with the puck and go on a two-on-one, but not having luck as Murray came up with the save. Montreal would dominate most of the third period, really pushing at this point to tie to the game.
With five minutes left in the game, Jason Zucker, off a bad pinch, would get the puck and go on a two-on-one of his own and manage to beat Price to make it 2-0. A great play from the veteran winger would basically seal the deal for the Penguins.
Three minutes later with Montreal not giving up, Jesperi Kotkaniemi would finally get the the Habs going when Artturi Lehkonen would fire a great shot that would lead to a rebound that the centreman would jump on. This would allow him to score, this bringing the Canadiens within a goal, 2-1.
That’s as close as Montreal would get, and with nine seconds left in the game, Jake Guentzel would score an empty netter to end it. This would see the siren sound and the Pittsburgh Penguins take the game 3-1. Game three goes Wednesday night at 8:00pm ET with the series tied up amid a best of three battle.
The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario NHL.TV and NBC, meanwhile, it can be heard via radio on TSN 690 and 98.5fm. It will also be carried in Canadiens region on TVA Sports to be watched in French.