Those in attendance at the Lenovo Center on Saturday night were treated to an excellent game. Most importantly, the Carolina Hurricanes won the game in overtime, evening the Eastern Conference Finals at a game apiece against the Montreal Canadiens. Eric Robinson scored for the second straight game, and Nikolaj Ehlers struck twice, including the overtime winner, in a 3-2 victory.
The path to victory wasn't straight and narrow, but that doesn't matter during this time of the year. A win is a win, regardless of how it looks. However, there were some fun bits and pieces throughout the contest that really stood out for both teams. Sometimes, you just need to make light of the funny things that happened throughout the night, even when things are at their tensest.
Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes had a very interesting night. He seemingly pushed the net out of position while the Canes sustained pressure in the offensive zone. He grabbed Andrei Svechnikov's leg after he fell in the crease. He also took an interference penalty against Mark Jankowski, his fourth penalty of the postseason. Still, there's one moment that trumped them all.
Early in the second period, as William Carrier chased a puck around the net, his stick got stuck in Dobes' skates, forcing him to field his position with a second stick, making life a little more difficult. To make it tougher, the Canes turned the puck around and had a great scoring chance, which Dobes fended off. It was a funny moment, even if Canes fans aren't too thrilled with his antics.
The Canes' top line still might not be firing on all cylinders this postseason, but Andrei Svechnikov has been solid through two games. He continues to play with a bit of an edge, taking a tough penalty in the offensive zone on Saturday. You can tell that he's feeling it at least a little because he attempted The Michigan, or The Svechnikov, if you feel so inclined.
However, his impact was mostly felt on the defensive side in Game 2. He made one of the biggest defensive plays of the night late in the second period, legally thwarting Nick Suzuki's stick on a breakaway, but the moment that went viral was when he blocked a shot in the third, and the puck got stuck in his boot. Everyone was confused until he reached down and pulled it out of his skate.
There's still the whole thing with Texier, Miller, and an unpleasant stick
In the final seconds of the second period, we were blessed with our controversial moment of the night. Mere moments after Svechnikov's aforementioned defensive gem against Suzuki, the camera caught K'Andre Miller lying on the ice in some considerable pain. The reason was unclear at that moment, but many in the arena and at home couldn't help but wince after the replay was shown.
As it turned out, the reason for Miller being on the ice was a stick below the belt from Alexandre Texier. The replays caught a few angles of the incident, and it was about as clear as day what Texier was trying to do. There aren't many reasons for a stick to end up making contact with another player in that area, so take that for what it's worth.
Spearing, as defined by Rule 62 of the NHL Rule Book, means stabbing an opponent with the point of the stick blade, regardless of whether contact is made or not. When contact is made, as it was in this case, it comes with a major penalty, a game misconduct, and a match penalty. It could've also come with a fine or a suspension.
The referees took a look at it for a potential five-minute major, which felt like a real possibility, especially after watching the replays. They looked at the different angles of the play and, in my humble opinion, missed a wide-open lay-up. Instead of a five-minute penalty for spearing, they reduced it to a two-minute infraction for slashing.
Almost everyone online and everyone on the broadcasts agreed that it should've been a major penalty. Clearly, the only ones who disagreed were the ones calling the game. The stripes had a tough go of it last night, missing a ton of penalties, including a potential double-minor for high-sticking moments before by Montreal defenseman Noah Dobson.
Regardless of your stance on the play, it was a game full of weird moments. It's not often that you see a player spear another player and get away with it. Penalties and power plays have been at a premium through the first two games, and while the Canes earned a power play out of this play, it should've been a five-minute chance. It doesn't matter now. The series is even, and this will be left in Raleigh.
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