The Penguins kept Matt Murray in net with Tristan Jarry as backup which was the best choice for them. The Montreal Canadiens once again started Carey Price in net on Wednesday night. With the series tied going into game three, both teams hit the ice in Toronto with urgency.
Sam Lafferty made his NHL playoff debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins, replacing Jared McCann. With that being said, Lafferty slid into the third line alongside Patrick Marleau and Patric Hornqvist. The lines and defensive pairings were the same as Mike Sullivan utilized in games one and two.
The starting lineup for the Penguins was the first line of Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary and the defensive pairing of Dumoulin-Letang. The ice conditions were much better for Wednesday’s game as the puck seemed to be bouncing much less.
Sidney Crosby won the game’s first face-off at the start of the game against the Montreal Canadiens. Both teams seemed to come out with speed while appearing strong early on off the draw. Conor Sheary laid a big hit on Brendan Gallagher and he went to the bench, looking like he was hurting.
The Canadiens seemed to have more puck control than they did in game two against Pittsburgh on Monday. They controlled it more in Pittsburgh’s zone which the team had been lacking to utilize in game two. Sam Lafferty laid a huge hit while crossing the neutral zone on right-winger Dale Weise.
Weise is utilized by Montreal in his regular position as well as a centreman. Murray got a lot of looks from the Canadiens offence in the game’s first period. As one would expect, captain Sidney Crosby had a target on his back. Surprisingly, there were zero penalties in the game at this point.
Shea Weber scored the game’s first goal just five minutes in to break open the scoring. Murray blocked a pair shots, but the Montreal captain was too aggressive and scored. The defensemen stayed with the puck on the net’s right side despite a party of traffic.
The goal was under review as the Penguins challenged it for goaltender interference. After the refs had a look, it was ruled a good goal, hence advantage for the Habs. Not only because they were leading, but Pittsburgh was charged with a delay of game penalty.
The penalty kill unit was released, consisting of Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Theodor Blueger and Brandon Tanev. Both teams were not hitting or checking as much as they had in previous games. However, as the game carried on, agitation began with both sides getting chippy.
Pittsburgh was awarded their first power play as Ben Chiarot was sent off for slashing. The top power play unit of Schultz, Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel and Hornqvist was on the ice for the Penguins as they looked to tie it. This followed with a delayed penalty on Montreal and Hornqvist didn’t hold back. He tied the game up at one, making easy work of Carey Price and getting through.
As play continued, Weber got one of his own, being called for crosschecking as he headed to the box. As a result of the call, the Pittsburgh Penguins were still awarded the power play. That saw Bryan Rust pass to Jason Zucker who made no mistake, giving Pittsburgh the lead. Up 2-1 on Montreal, the Canadiens came back, creating a turnover in the neutral zone. While that led to another scoring chance, the Canadiens were lucky as the Penguins just missed.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi laid a huge hit on Brian Dumoulin, this resulting in the defensemen losing his helmet during the play. Towards the end of the first period, there were obvious tensions rising between the two hockey clubs. As such, it didn’t leave much surprise for more hits and fights, not to mention more penalties. After Conor Sheary was called for tripping, the siren would sound on the first twenty minutes.
Second Period
The second period started with Pittsburgh on the penalty kill while remaining ahead 2-1 on the Habs. The Penguins killed off the penalty and held the Canadiens to zero shots on goal. After a shot by Marcus Pettersson, a whistle was blown and Hornqvist and Weber went after each other.
Brendan Tanev then had a race with a Canadien and got to the puck, immediately passing it to Blueger. Blueger would bank it in, this giving the Penguins a 3-1 lead. The Canadiens had to be frustrated which ultimately led to more hits on Pittsburgh.
While that was going on, John Marino got sent off for holding, this giving the Canadiens another power play. Joel Armia would get off easy as the referee missed him tugging Zucker’s jersey. As play resumed, Crosby went for a shorthanded goal, flip passed the puck to Jake Guentzel, but not before it would be stopped by Price.
Eventually, the penalty was killed as the box was emptied, restoring even strength. Jonathan Drouin then got in on the action, tipping the puck in from Ben Chiarot and scoring. This would bring the Canadiens within one goal, now trailing 3-2.
Pittsburgh, now getting busy, would see Jack Johnson shoot the puck down the ice and hit Bryan Rust who had just been crosschecked. Once he got up under his own power, Jake Evans was hit hard by Tanev which saw Evans down, needing medical assistance. As replay video showed, the centreman’s head hit the glass before going down. Once the team’s training staff discovered blood, he was sent to the locker room with help from his teammates.
Along with Sidney Crosby, winger Brandon Tanev had a target on his back. In the final minutes of the second period, Patric Hornqvist was experiencing discomfort, either in his arm or further up in his shoulder. He took sime time off the ice where one could suspect he was attempting to strategize.
Malkin was then called called for tripping which led the Penguins to another penalty kill. At the same time, Patric Hornqvist had departed for the dressing room. Therefore, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the game’s remainder, were competing while down a man.
Making the task almost easy, Philip Danault hit the post of the net, but just missing. While that was good news for Pittsburgh, the penalty expiring wasn’t as Paul Byron tied it at three on a wraparound. While scoring with five minutes left, the siren would sound following back-and-forth action.
Third Period
Thanks to a pair of goals, the game’s final frame started tied three apiece. Both teams took to the ice with one thing with the energy showing they wanted to win it. Crosby tried to cross pass to Jake Guentzel, but it was intercepted by Brendan Gallagher. From this point on, there were no signs of either team slowing down.
At the beginning of the frame, the Penguins undoubtedly had the most puck control. The Penguins received a delayed penalty as Zach Aston-Reese got two minutes for roughing. At this point, the puck was under Dumoulin after hitting the post and the Canadiens jabbed at him.
The referees should’ve blown the whistle and froze the play still after Dumoulin went down. Minutes later, this saw Jeff Petry score from a sharp left angle after the penalty was killed. This would make it 4-3 Montreal with 15 minutes left to play on the clock. Hornqvist then made his return, which as far as Penguins fans could tell, was good news.
Pittsburgh got a delayed penalty as left-winger Paul Byron then hooked Bryan Rust. In the final minute left on the clock, they had the opportunity to tie the game with the extra attacker. However, for the trailing Penguins, that meant pulling Matt Murray who was set up to lose.
Unfortunately, as the clock died down, the Penguins couldn’t capitalize on the two-man advantage. This led to a Montreal win with Pittsburgh now down in the series 2-1. That means game four is do or die and you’d have to think that they will come out more focused.
Game four gets going on Friday with puck drop scheduled for 4:00pmET. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario, NHL.TV and NBCSN, 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.