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Canadiens vs. Lightning Game 1 Recap: A Heartbreaker

By Lissa Albert |
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May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

CANADIENS vs. LIGHTNING Game 1 Recap: A Heartbreaker

The Montreal Canadiens have played their first game against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, and it ended in a 2-1 overtime loss for the Habs. There is plenty to discuss about this game, most of it good. There is controversy – times two. But it was an all-round good game, except for the outcome.

The Habs did what they had to do: they came out strong, they stayed strong throughout 3 periods and into a 2nd overtime. They dominated the puck, their turnovers were recovered quickly, and they had chances that – right from the beginning – were excellent, though unproductive.

The entire team came out to play. Devante Smith-Pelly led the charge in hits (8) with workhorse Dale Weise just behind him (7). Other than Alex Galchenyuk, who, according to coach Michel Therrien, “had a tough night,” every player had a great game. They played together, as a unit.

They cleared the puck from in front of Carey Price (who turned in another stellar performance), and they continued to get it down to the offensive zone, keeping it in for incredibly exciting, and lengthy shifts.

Galchenyuk might have struggled but he got some chances as well; I’m not going to be too hard on him. After all, it’s a team effort.

The Habs won 55 of 89 face-offs through 5 periods, with Lars Eller winning 68% of the draws (17/25) and Tomas Plekanec winning 66% (19/29). This will prove to be an important trend as the series continues.

Every line stepped up to make this game a strongly played match. Kudos to Jeff Petry, who blocked a Jason Garrison shot with his ankle late in the first period, went down to the ice, limped to the bench and was helped into the locker room, unable to put weight on the foot. He was back in the second, and played the entire game like the warrior he is.

May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry (26) reacts after being injured during the first period against Tampa Bay Lightning in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Through the entire game, the Lightning had 4 PIM while Habs had 6 (all 3 penalties on Alex Galchenyuk). Neither team scored in five power plays. This will be a problem for the Habs as the series continues. They have to find a way to make their power play actually live up to its name.

Much will be said about the luck of this game – more about that soon. But the Habs played like winners. And that’s what makes this loss such a tough one to take.

The First 2 Periods – Scoreless

The first two periods were fast-paced, with the Habs dominating the puck.

  • By the end of the 2nd period, the shots were 22-19 in favor of the Canadiens.
  • The Habs had hit the post twice very early in the first period – once by David Desharnais, the other by Max Pacioretty. It seemed to be a good omen.
  • Hits were 29-21 in favor of the Habs by the end of the 2nd period

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The Third Period

Going into the third period, the Habs came out strong again. But at 2:34 of that period, Tyler Johnson – wunderkind for the Lightning – tipped the puck into the net and the Lightning were on the board.

It would be another 12 minutes before Max Pacioretty shot the puck at the net; it popped out of goalie Ben Bishop‘s glove, flew up, and dropped behind him. It looked like he had lost sight of the puck which slid over the goal line before he could locate it.

That re-energized the Bell Centre, and the Habs as well; they registered 9 shots to the Lightning’s 6, but no further goals were scored in the third, and the game went into overtime.

May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Pacioretty (67) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The Controversy Of The No-Goal

At almost 3 minutes into the first overtime, Nikita Kucherov shot the puck right into Carey Price, who saved the shot with his pad; Kucherov then pushed Price’s pad, along with the puck, over the goal line, but the referees whistled it off and signaled a “no goal”.

Of course, it went to a review, but even watching the replay, it was blatant goalie interference. Whistle or not, the puck went in with the goalie, giving Price absolutely no way to defend his net. When a goalie is pushed, everything else is negated, even if the puck crosses the goal line.

After the review, which upheld the call on the ice, there was an explosion on Twitter, from fans of teams other than the Canadiens. Accusations of “luck”, of “referee bias” and the like.

Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette tweeted the ruling made by the NHL Situation Room, citing the rule that was invoked in the call:

With goalie interference, rulings are hard and fast, and in the interest of protecting goaltenders, the NHL is seemingly (and responsibly) enforcing these rules.

After that, of course it became a Controversy. Even some analysts on Twitter, from various media outlets, had questioned the call. In watching the replay, it was extremely clear: Carey Price was  unable to freeze or block the puck due to his being pushed into his net. That negates anything that happens after the interference, and it was the right call.

See for yourself:

It should be noted that Lightning head coach Jon Cooper – after the game – admitted that the call was the right one.

Was he being charitable because his team won? Perhaps. At the time, he was unhappy about the call. But a good coach, watching a replay and seeing the evidence, will admit to a call being the right one even if it doesn’t benefit his team. And as he only said this after the game went in his favor, there was no need to criticize the referees. Especially in light of what was revealed after the game was over.

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Overtime continued, with plenty of chances but no goals. It was fast-paced, heart-stopping hockey to watch. Tomas Plekanec had one of the best chances with a shot on Bishop, who stacked his pads to foil what would have been the game-winning goal.

In the second overtime, Dale Weise came close to repeating his Game 1 OT winner of last season against this same team:

Then, just 2:06 into the period, none other than Nikita Kucherov took a pass from Valtteri Filppula and managed to take a low shot which went past Carey Price to score the OT winner. It was a heartbreaking ending to a game Habs fans – and players – felt the Habs should have won.

Controversy Number Two

Only after the game did something emerge, again on Twitter, that has caused a second ripple of controversey – this time on the part of the Canadiens and their fans.

CBC’s George Stroumboulopoulos (and a co-host of CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada) tweeted this:

You can see Filppula inside the blue line and Brian Boyle with the puck not yet in the offensive zone. SportsNet analyst (and former hockey player) Nick Kypreos, Stroumboupoulous’s colleague, picked it up with his own take:

The evidence spread throughout Twitter, and likely was brought to the attention of the Canadiens’ coaching staff, if they didn’t already know about it (it didn’t seem like they did on the bench).

By the time Habs coach Michel Therrien took the podium for his press conference, the missed call was a fact, and he was asked about it. As reported by ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun:

“It’s really frustrating losing a game on an offside,” fumed Habs head coach Michel Therrien after the game. “Those things are not supposed to happen. I thought our players, our team, got a great effort. You can’t ask for a better effort. But to lose a game because of an offside? It’s not like a penalty. A penalty’s always a judgment call, so you can always question the judgment and there’s nothing you can do. But an offside is black or white. And it was clearly an offside. End up losing the game.” May 1, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien (L) talks to right wing P.A. Parenteau (15), center Torrey Mitchell (17) and right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (21) during the second period against Tampa Bay Lightning in game one of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

LeBrun echoes what others have said on Twitter: that Montreal players had plenty of time to clear the puck before Kucherov scored the game winner.

However, I don’t agree. An offside call is supposed to stop the play. Goals scored after a player is offside should not happen.

We know they do, but in a playoff series, with a game-winning goal in a double overtime, this isn’t an ordinary, everyday missed call with few consequences.

It is a game breaker for the losing team. In a playoff series.

And had the referees or linesmen done their jobs, they would have whistled the play dead and a new face-off would have taken place.

I refuse to believe that Montreal failing to clear the puck negates the offside. As Therrien said, it’s black or white. Call it or don’t call it, but missing such an important call cheats the losing team.

Did the Habs have plenty of scoring chances? Yes. Did they fail to capitalize on them throughout 5 periods? Yes. Either stopped by posts or Bishop or blocked shots or plain missing the net, they did not score.

Neither, however, did Tampa Bay. And the advantage of their player inside the offensive zone, which led directly to his winning goal, just doesn’t seem fair.

As well, no one is saying the offside on the winning goal is an excuse for the Habs not scoring. It’s a fact of the game, and a tough pill to swallow knowing there might have been another chance for the Canadiens that just may have gone their way.

It’s important to shake it off, though. Let’s face it: the Canadiens played a beautiful game, arguably one of their best of the entire season and definitely their best of the playoffs. They never let up on the gas, they dominated, they showed their opponents that they are ready to rumble.

And this is one win, not the series. There’s a reason for the best-of-7 in NHL playoffs. This is one of them.

I will take heart in the evidence. I will take heart in the stamina the Habs showed through over 80 minutes of play.

And I will stay confident that they will win Game 2, and go into Tampa Bay with a split in the series before they play in front of a less-than-friendly crowd.

Enjoy Max Pacioretty’s tying goal:

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