Sidney Crosby was in great form and the Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of the opportunity to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout at the Bell Center on Wednesday night.
The visitors' captain scored two goals and set up Jake Guentzel's success.
His second goal and that of number 59 came while a Sainte-Flanelle player was in the penalty box. Crosby has now played seven career games with at least three points against CH.
The very first pick in the 2005 draft hit the target in a shootout, as did his teammates Kris Letang, Lars Eller and Jansen Harkins. The latter ended the debate as the twelfth shooter on his team.
The Canadian started the game well and returned to the locker room with a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play.
David Savard opened the scoring. He intercepted a bad throw from Erik Karlsson at the Pens' blue line, advanced into the offensive zone and beat goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. It was the first goal of the season for the Quebecer, who last experienced the joy of putting the puck into the opponent's net on February 24th.
It was only Savard's second game after missing 22 games with a broken left hand.
About six minutes after CH's first goal, Jayden Struble showed off his talent by scoring his second goal in three games. The 22-year-old guard carried the puck out of his territory, handed it to a teammate and stormed into the net. The one, who was playing only his 11th game in the National League, hit the mark from the middle of the slot.
Crosby reduced the deficit, but Sean Monahan took advantage of the Pens' indiscipline to give the crowd favorites back two-goal priority before the end of the first period.
In front of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge cage, Samuel Montembeault stopped 27 of 30 shots from his rivals. Nedeljkovic was challenged 42 times.
The Canadiens have had a tough time at home lately, having recorded just one win in their last nine games in Montreal.
The Habs will return to action this Saturday as part of a visit to the Quebec metropolis by the New York Islanders.
Game Highlights:
Renewal :
05:00 – Neither team manages to score a goal. Equality remains. It will therefore be decided in a shootout.
01:04 – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) is sent off for tripping Cole Caufield.
00:00 – Extra time begins.
3rd period:
8:00 p.m. – End of the 3rd hour of play. Directional expansion!
16:58 – Drew O'Connor (PIT) is penalized for mowing down Samuel Montembeault.
03:00 – Kristopher Letang (PIT) is sent off for hitting Cole Caufield with a stick.
00:00 – The confrontation continues.
2nd period:
8:00 p.m. – End of the 2nd hour of play. It's a 3:3 deadlock.
11:01 – GOAL – Sidney Crosby's perfect wrist shot lands behind Samuel Montembeault. His second goal of the game, this time scored on the power play, ensured a 3-3 tie.
10:15 – Juraj Slafkovsky takes a high stick penalty.
05:36 – GOAL – Jake Guentzel scores at 5-on-4. His 13th goal of the season allows the Penguins to reduce the deficit to 3-2. As a result, Sidney Crosby gets his second point of the game.
04:26 – The Canadiens are penalized for having too many men on the ice.
02:27 – Johnathan Kovacevic (MTL) is penalized for an obstructive gesture against Radim Zohorna.
00:00 – The meeting begins again.
1. Period:
8:00 p.m. – End of the first hour of play. 3-1 Montreal. This is the first time this season that the Habs have scored three goals in one period.
3:20 p.m. – GOAL – Sean Monahan gives Montreal two goals with a rebound on the power play. It's 3:1.
14:53 – Marcus Pettersson (PIT) is penalized for an obstructive gesture against Cole Caufield.
13:48 – GOAL – Sidney Crosby takes advantage of a mistake by Kaiden Guhle in his area and scores his 16th goal of the season. The deficit is reduced to 2:1.
12:21 – GOAL -Jayden Struble again contributes offensively with his second goal in three games. This means CH doubles its lead to 2-0.
06:24 – GOAL – Erik Karlsson sends the puck directly to David Savard's stick, who doesn't miss his chance and scores his first goal of the season. 1-0 Montreal.
00:00 – Start of the game
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Post-match press conferences:
The CH lineup against the Penguins:
Attacker:
- Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
- Monahan-Evans-Anderson
- Armia-Dvorak-Gallagher
- Pezzetta – Stephens – Ylönen
Defender:
- Matheson-Savard
- Guhle-Barron
- Struble – Kovacevic
Guardian :