In their second game in as many nights, the Montreal Canadiens lost for the fourth straight time, this time against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.
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In fact, Mike Sullivan's men had the upper hand over Martin St. Louis's by a score of 4 to 1.
The second section was particularly difficult for the guests. While the score was 1-1, the game changed within 21 seconds. On the power play, Bryan Rust gave his team a 2-1 lead before Drew O'Connor added a few moments later.
Kristopher Letang also gave Pittsburgh two red lights.
The Habs dominated early in the opening period and scored the first goal of the game when defender Mike Matheson took advantage of a mistake by Letang to beat goalkeeper Tristan Jarry.
The latter also shone in his team's victory with 31 saves. The one who was busy defending the Montreal cage, Cayden Primeau, stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced.
In addition to the loss, the Canadiens' defensive brigade was reduced to five after Jayden Struble was forced to retreat to his team's locker room due to an injury.
For the second year in a row, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky were left off the scoresheet.
With this setback, Montreal is 2-6-0 in its last eight games and sits in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-27-8.
The Habs will be back in action Saturday afternoon when they visit the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
8:00 p.m. – End of the meeting.
18:35 – Score 4:1 Kristopher Letang ended Montreal's hopes by scoring his second goal into an empty net.
11:49 – Josh Anderson is involved in an altercation with Marcus Pettersson. We play four against four.
07:13 – Bryan Rust receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
03:38 – Rickard Rakell receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
00:00- Start of period.
SECOND PERIOD
8:00 p.m.- End of period.
13:09 – Arber Xhekaj receives a penalty. The Penguins will play on the power play.
11:51 – Score 3:1 The Penguins added more 21 seconds later. Drew O'Connor hits the target with a perfect shot. His eighth goal of the season gave Pittsburgh a two-goal lead.
11:30 – GOAL SQUARE 2:1 The Penguins take advantage of the power play. Bryan Rust scored the goal. His 16th goal of the season puts Pittsburgh in the lead.
11:24 – Brendan Gallagher receives a penalty. The Penguins will play on the power play.
03:46 – Bryan Rust receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
00:00 – Start of period.
FIRST PERIOD
8:00 p.m. – End of period.
11:24 – GOAL 1:1 Kristopher Letang finds a way to fix his mistake. His shot beat Cayden Primeau and allowed Pittsburgh to equalize. This is his fifth goal of the season.
09:05 – BUT MTL 1:0 Kristopher Letang committed a turnover. Mike Matheson takes the opportunity to open the brand. His eighth goal of the season puts Montreal ahead.
00:00 – Start of the game.
In front of the net
Cayden Primeau Record: 5-5-1 / Goals Allowed Average: 3.07 / Efficiency Rate: 90.3%
Tristan Jarry Record: 14-17-4 / Goals Allowed Average: 2.50 / Efficiency Rate: 91.4%
Training from trainer Martin St-Louis