With a little momentum following their 3-2 overtime win on Saturday, the Carolina Hurricanes headed north of the border once again to begin the first of two games at Centre Bell against the Montreal Canadiens. The Caniacs were treated to a solid effort in Game 2 from the home team, which ended with Nikolaj Ehlers sending the fans home happy with his overtime winner.
Once again, the Hurricanes opted for the same lineup, allowing Frederik Andersen to make his 11th straight start this postseason. For Montreal, the only change to their lineup came up front. Joe Veleno returned to the fourth line, replacing Oliver Kapanen. Jakub Dobes was between the pipes for the Canadiens, who've yet to lose this postseason after a loss.
The scoring was once again opened by the Canes' fourth line, thanks to some hard work along the boards. Eventually, the puck found Shayne Gostisbehere for the easy strike to get the Canes off and running. Mike Matheson tied it with a top-shelf snipe that should've been stopped, but Taylor Hall responded 54 seconds later with a rebound goal, putting the Canes up 2-1 after 20.
Special teams finally became a factor in the series. Early in the second period, a soft slashing call to Jordan Martinook resulted in Lane Hutson finishing a gorgeous give-and-go with Cole Caufield, tying the game at two. The score stood in a deadlock by the end of the period because of excellent goaltending on both ends, setting up a big third period in a 2-2 game.
Montreal thought they'd scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third when Noah Dobson's attempted pass deflected off Nikolaj Ehlers' stick and into the net. However, a coach's challenge for offside revealed that Caufield entered the zone early, wiping the goal off the board. Instead, we were treated to a scoreless period, sending us to overtime for the second game in a row, tied at two.
The Habs missed a few times early in overtime. Nick Suzuki fired wide on a breakaway, and Matheson rang the crossbar. Otherwise, the Canes wore their opponent down. Late in the fourth period, it was the Canes' top line to the rescue. Andrei Svechnikov intercepted a pass in the neutral zone before playing catch with Seth Jarvis and snapping a shot past Dobes to give the Canes the 3-2 win.
The top line gets its marquee moment in overtime
It might've been mentioned once or twice that the Hurricanes' top line has been largely absent from most of the action throughout the postseason. They scored the first goal in Game 1 of the series, but that has been it. Many chances had been wasted through two games. Tonight, they played their best game of the series, and they were rewarded in overtime.
Andrei Svechnikov might've been the best Hurricane on the ice in Game 3. He finished with three hits and five shots, but none was bigger than the last one. The play began when he intercepted a weak pass from Hutson. Jarvis found Svechnikov beyond the dot, and Sebastian Aho provided the screen. It all came together for a beautiful moment.
The Hurricanes' defense continues to stifle Montreal's offense
There's a lot to be said about how Montreal has gotten back-to-back games to overtime despite no more than 13 shots in either game. That being said, they were silenced over the final 40 minutes tonight. In a tie game, the Canadiens combined for two total shots in the third period and overtime. It's hard to win games that way, even if they won a Game 7 with only nine shots.
We've seen a complete turnaround for the Canes' defense after their horrible showing in Game 1. A big story tonight was Montreal blocking shots, but the Canes blocked their fair share as well. Jaccob Slavin and Sean Walker blocked four each. The only thing I'll say is that five of Montreal's 13 shots came from their top line, which was Montreal's best tonight.
Additional Thoughts
Game 3 marks three goals in three games for the fourth line. While Shayne Gostisbehere finished the play, the entire trio put together an excellent shift to get it done. Mark Jankowski has three assists in two games, and Eric Robinson has points in all three. It was also good to see the Stankoven line show up on the scoresheet after a few quiet games.
Frederik Andersen hasn't seen a lot of rubber in the last two games, and his save percentage has taken a massive hit because of it. However, Andersen made a few massive stops in the second period to keep the game tied before only seeing two shots over the final 36 minutes. He isn't giving away freebies to Montreal, which has needed to earn every bounce it has gotten.
With their fifth road win of the postseason, the Hurricanes have taken home ice advantage back from the Canadiens. Each team has a road win in the series now. They also handed Montreal consecutive losses for the first time this postseason, which is a little amazing since they've already played 17 games. All in all, not a bad night in Montreal for the visitors.
Up Next: The Hurricanes will try to put a stranglehold on the series when they resume on Wednesday night in Montreal. If the Canes come away with another road win, they'll head back to Raleigh with a 3-1 series lead and a chance to close it out on home ice on Friday. If Montreal wins, they'll even the series and ensure a return trip to Montreal for Game 6 on Sunday night.
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