Montreal Canadiens: Three Stars vs Winnipeg Jets

Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets games have been a little unpredictable so far this season.

We have seen just about every result in the past couple weeks between these two teams. There were two overtime games, which were both won by the Jets. There was a 2-0 Habs lead blown in a 6-3 Jets win and there was a completely dominant 7-1 victory by the Canadiens.

So, in their past four meetings, the Canadiens outscored the jets 14-13 but lost three of four games.

So, it was difficult to predict what kind of game we would see last night. It looked like it was going to go in the Jets favour early on as they had some sustained pressure on the first few shifts but the game remained scoreless.

The Canadiens newly formed first line started the scoring when Josh Anderson dove to knock a loose puck to Jonathan Drouin who made a crisp pass to Jesperi Kotkaniemi at the top of the crease and the young centre redirected it home to open the scoring four minutes in.

The score would stay 1-0 into the first intermission as Carey Price turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the opening frame.

The Canadiens were better in the second period, with Jonathan Drouin drawing a penalty as he was hooked on a breakaway. The ensuing power play saw Josh Anderson extend the team’s lead to 2-0 when he knocked in a loose puck from a tough angle.

The Jets pulled within one on a power play of their own. Kyle Connor fooled Carey Price with a quick shot through the five hole as Blake Wheeler provided a screen at the top of the crease.

Brendan Gallagher would be turned aside on a penalty shot as the Canadiens continued to pour on the pressure. It finally paid off in the final minute as Tyler Toffoli picked off a Neal Pionk clearing attempt and walked in on a 3 on 1 with Gallagher and Nick Suzuki. Toffoli kept the puck all the way and deked to his forehand before increasing the Habs lead to 3-1.

The third period saw Connor score again on a blast with the man advantage to make it a 3-2 game. Price made several key saves to keep it that way until Toffoli scored his second of the night into an empty net to close out the win.