With their focus on earning a fourth straight victory, the Carolina Hurricanes sought a perfect finish to their road trip. The final stop on their journey brought them back across the border to Montreal for the first of two games against the Canadiens this week. The Canes gained a little distance between themselves and the Penguins on Sunday, behind a big game from the visitors' power play.
The same lineup from Sunday's victory was used again on Tuesday in Montreal, including their netminder. Frederik Andersen went for his sixth straight win after stopping 18 shots in Pittsburgh. The Canadiens countered with Jakub Dobes, who has been on a similarly hot streak. He has ten wins over his last 13 starts, including a win over the Hurricanes.
The Canes were rolling early, with the power play staying hot. Nikolaj Ehlers tried to find Seth Jarvis. Instead, his pass hit Mike Matheson's stick and beat Dobes. Soon after, the captain capitalized on a bounce. He was alone in the slot to pot his 18th goal, sending the Canes out to an early lead. Oliver Kapanen's tip midway through the frame cut into the lead, giving the Canes a 2-1 advantage after 20.
Despite coming up empty on a 5-on-3, Montreal managed to tie and take the lead in the second. Cole Caufield was on the spot to deposit a lively rebound, drawing Montreal even. Before the halfway point, Caufield got his stick free for a redirection. The puck hit Juraj Slafkovsky on the way into the net, giving the Canadiens their first lead, which they held into the second intermission.
Try as they might, the Hurricanes couldn't solve Dobes for the rest of the night. Ivan Demidov capitalized on a mishandled puck by K'Andre Miller, making a great move on Andersen to score on a breakaway and double Montreal's lead late. Jake Evans scored into the empty net, sending the Hurricanes home with a 2-1-0 record on this trip after a 5-2 loss.
It's hard to start a game better than the Hurricanes did
In a hostile environment, you want to play from in front, and that's what the Hurricanes did. The power play stayed scorching hot with an early goal, even if it came from a fortunate bounce. Nikolaj Ehlers was the best Hurricane on the ice tonight by a good margin. Then, Jordan Staal continued his push for 20 goals with another. From there, Jakub Dobes was frustratingly good.
This loss boils down to a few things, but the biggest stems from the Canes' inability to get more from their start. This isn't a new issue. It has been a common thread in a few of their losses recently. They score the opening goal and go on a nice run, but they put it in cruise control, or, in tonight's case, the goalie stands on his head. The Canes had their looks. They just didn't find the net.
Montreal's stars made the greater impact
The key to stopping the Montreal Canadiens is to stop their Top 6 forwards. Tonight, the Carolina Hurricanes didn't do a good enough job of that. All four goals before the empty netter came from Montreal's first two lines. The comeback began with the Kapanen line spoiling the start. Oliver Kapanen's tip was a beauty, and it gave the Canadiens life heading into the second.
The middle frame is when Cole Caufield woke up. If not for Juraj Slafkovsky lurking in the crease, he would've scored twice. Instead, he'll settle for the game-tying goal and the primary assist on the game-winning goal. Throw in a beautiful breakaway goal from Ivan Demidov while you're at it. Meanwhile, the Canes' top line was -7, though Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov had assists.
Additional Thoughts
I don't know how you come out of this game pointing to Frederik Andersen as the reason for the loss. It only felt like one of the goals rested on his shoulders, and even that one is questionable. Once Montreal took the lead, Andersen locked in to make some incredibly big stops. His offense didn't reciprocate, and eventually, the deficit grew.
If we need a silver lining to tonight's loss, other than Ehlers' continued brilliance and another goal by the captain, it's that almost everyone else in the Metro's Top 4 lost, too. Pittsburgh and New York lost on home ice, while Columbus earned a road win in Philly. Columbus has passed the Penguins, making the Canes' cushion in the division nine points over the Blue Jackets, who they'll see twice next week.
Up Next: The Carolina Hurricanes return to Raleigh after tonight's game, but they don't play again until Saturday night, hosting the New Jersey Devils. The contest kicks off a weekend back-to-back, with the Canadiens coming to town on Sunday after playing in Nashville the night before. The Canes close the month against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Ohio next Tuesday.