Another shot at a solid win streak for the Montreal Canadiens was shut down on Tuesday night, as the Vancouver Canucks got their 1st home win of the season and beat the Habs 5-1 in regulation.
The Habs experienced their 2nd game without making the 1st goal as Jared McCann tapped in Brandon Prust‘s rebound 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the 1st period. This was followed by a midway mark goal from Bo Horvat, which turned into the 1st time the Habs had trailed behind 2 goals this season.
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A slashing penalty for Tomas Fleischmann gave the Canucks their 1st power play with 6 minutes and 39 seconds left of the period. While the Habs were able to clear the puck from their zone and kill off the penalty, the Canucks came back and McCann buried another puck in the Montreal net with 4 minutes left.
With 31 seconds to go, the Habs picked up their 1st PP of the night from Sven Baertschi‘s tripping penalty but the clock ran out with 1 minute and 29 seconds left of the 5-on-4 advantage. The Canucks left with a 3-0 lead while the Habs kept a 12-11 lead in shots.
The 2nd period showed the Habs a little more awake, as scoring chances were starting to roll in. However, it was a dull, uneventful period of hockey and Montreal couldn’t break the puck through the Vancouver net. The period ended with the Canucks still in the lead and the Habs leading 11-9 in shots.
The Rat Trick
Torrey Mitchell‘s tip in from an Alexei Emelin shot over Ryan Miller broke what looked to be a possible shutout just 2 minutes and 54 seconds into the 3rd period. They were starting to dominate the Canucks but 5 minutes into the period, the Habs couldn’t make much of their PP. Along with a struggling PP, the Habs’ chance to try and fix the scoreboard came to a halt, when a sloppy line change had too many men on the ice and put both teams at 4-on-4.
A minute after, Radim Vrbata put a puck out of mid-air past Carey Price, putting the Canucks back on the 3 goal lead and erasing any chance the Habs had at making a 3rd period come back. This was followed by a midway mark goal from Derek Dorsett, who got a deflection off Alexander Semin to make it a 5-1 lead.
Oct 27, 2015; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller (30) reaches up to make a save as Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher (11) tries to get a stick on the loose puck during the second period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
It was a tough loss for the Habs but especially a tough night for Price, who seemed to be a little off his game. This was his 2nd career game against Vancouver, however, and sometimes unlucky deflections just happen. What really made up for the loss though, was seeing how much work the 4th line was bringing in.
They controlled over 50% of even strength shot attempts while on the ice while receiving zero offensive zone starts, which is already amazing enough but Mitchell now has 4 goals already this season. Having a solid 4th line is pretty refreshing to say the least.
Overall, did this game hurt to watch? Yes, but did the Habs really fail? No. Shot attempts were pretty even, and the Habs produced a fair amount of scoring chances. The only problem was that Vancouver hadn’t had a home win yet this season, they were hungry for goals, and somehow they were able to have a lucky night especially when it came to deflecting the puck.
It was a great win streak for the Montreal Canadiens and there’s no doubt that they can pull it off again, they’ll just have to kick-start themselves in Calgary on Thursday.
How did you feel about Tuesday night’s game? Do you think the Habs will be able to take over the West for the next 2 games? Let us know in the comments below!
Next: Canadiens' Alexander Semin, 5 Reasons to be Encouraged
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