We have no doubt the Canadiens would have settled for a split on the road in the opening two games before the start of this Eastern Conference final against Carolina. But why can’t Montreal strike when the iron’s hot? Why can’t this team pounce on its opponent when it appears vulnerable? And what will it take for the Canadiens to develop a killer instinct? Arguably, Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center could have gone either way with a lucky
bounce here or there. But in reality, the Canadiens never had any business winning this game and received the fate they deserved. When a team generates 12 shots through more than 63 minutes, it doesn’t deserve to win. When a team fails to get a shot in overtime, it doesn’t deserve to win. And when a team not only goes 0-for-2 on the power play — but fails to produce a shot with the man-advantage — it doesn’t deserve to win. The Canadiens now return
to the Bell Centre for the next two games on Monday and Wednesday. Hold serve and win both, and Montreal will be in command of the best-of-seven series. Split the pair and the Canadiens probably will be headed for their third successive seven-game set. Lose both? Panic time. Is this a good time to remind everyone (Part I): The Canadiens are 2-4 in the playoffs on home ice. Their last game in Montreal was an 8-3 loss to Buffalo. Is this a good time to
remind everyone (Part II): The Canadiens now have a 2-7 record following a post-season win. News you need (Part I): Carolina is 4-0 in overtime games. News you need (Part II): The Hurricanes haven’t suffered consecutive defeats on home ice since early January. They improved to 23-7-0 following a loss. News you need (Part III): In seven trips to the Eastern Conference final, Carolina never won the first game. This marked the third time it has won Game 2. And both times the Hurricanes went
on to win the series. News you need (Part IV): Even with this win, Carolina is only 2-13 under head coach Rod Brind’Amour when it reaches the NHL’s semifinal round. Fifth time was the charm: The Canadiens had won their four previous games against Carolina, outscoring the Hurricanes 21-10. Sieve of the night: We don’t care Frederik Andersen was the winning goaltender. He was beaten on the first shot he faced, more than 11 minutes into the game, and the ninth shot. Both goals were
scored by Josh Anderson. Andersen’s save percentage was .833. We remain convinced he’s Carolina’s weakest link. At least until he proves us wrong. Yeah, but, what about the other guy: Yes, Jakub Dobes was beaten on the first shot he faced. And while his save percentage was a pedestrian .885, he faced 26 shots. We rest our case. Here we go again: It seems like the Canadiens allow an early goal in most every game. Saturday was no different; Eric Robinson’s deflection eluding Dobes after
only 2:33. Taking one for the team: Juraj Slafkovsky was in some distress after blocking a shot with his left leg in the first period. However, he didn’t miss a shift. Giveaway of the night (Part I): Taylor Hall on the Canadiens’ opening goal. Giveaway of the night (Part II): Slafkovsky lost the puck to Seth Jarvis late in the opening period. No damage was inflicted. He’s entertaining, if nothing else (Part I): Somehow, Dobes managed to get William Carrier’s stick stuck in his skate
blade in the second period. He’s entertaining, if nothing else (Part II): Dobes could be seen laughing after taking an interference penalty against Mark Jankowski in the second period. News you need (Part V): Dobes becomes the first goalie to take four penalties in the playoffs since Edmonton’s Dwayne Roloson in 2006. He’s entertaining, if nothing else (Part III): We quite enjoyed the third-period stare down between Dobes and Jankowski. The hidden game: Midway through the second period, Carolina had a 9-4 edge in shots
on goal. It was like watching paint dry. Forwards who can’t backcheck: Cole Caufield on Nikolaj Ehlers’s second-period goal. Great moments in officiating: Noah Dobson’s second period high stick on Carrier went undetected. When do these teams starting hating each other: Eight minor penalties — four against each team — were assessed in Game 1. On Saturday, only five minor penalties were called. Our random thought of the night: Dress Arber Xhekaj and Nicolas Deslauriers. That will spice things up. And this is why he’s
the un-sieve: In the eighth minute of the third period, Dobes dove across his crease to deny Jarvis. Hit of the night: Hall on Lane Hutson in overtime. Best line change of the night: Ehlers in overtime. Seconds later, he scored the winning goal. Next time, decline the penalty: Carolina went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage. It’s a crowded leaderboard: Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, Oliver Kapanen, Dobson and Mike Matheson each had goal differentials of minus-2. Quick stats: Anderson and Nick Suzuki each had two shots.
Caufield and Slafkovsky each had only one. Suzuki added three hits, as did Jayden Struble. Alexandre Carrier blocked four shots — one more than Matheson and Hutson. Hutson played 24:52. Dobson played 24:34. The Canadiens won 52.4 per cent of their faceoffs, but were outhit 46-16. They said it: “We just didn’t execute well enough compared to the first game,” Matheson told the media in Raleigh. “There wasn’t a whole lot of time with the puck on your stick. We could have created space a
little bit better.” “I think our starts have been fine,” Suzuki said. “We need to not be giving goals up early. I’m not concerned. We just couldn’t get to our game in overtime. We’re still really confident in what we can do. We just have to find a way to get more pucks to the net.” “We need to be better at home,” Dobes admitted. “We talk about it and we’ll try our best. It was a pretty tight game. I didn’t come up with
a save, unfortunately, for the boys in overtime. I have high expectations for me. I feel like we could have won that game. We didn’t get our second breath. It was over pretty quick.” “For the entire game there wasn’t much room out there to create,” Anderson said. “We expected that; that they were going to bring their best. There wasn’t a lot of space out there. It only takes one opportunity.”
Canadiens, Hurricanes, Eastern Conference final, overtime, Bell Centre, Lenovo Center, power play, Jakub Dobes, Frederik Andersen, Josh Anderson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Mike Matheson, Nick Suzuki