The Montreal Canadiens faced another big client at the Bell Center with the arrival of Jonathan Drouin and the Colorado Avalanche, but the local favorites played well, winning 4-3 on Monday night.
Martin St-Louis' men ended their ugly streak of three losses – including two at home to the San Jose Sharks and the Edmonton Oilers – against a team that had lost just once since December 29th.
With just over four minutes left, the Habs buzzed close to Alexandar Georgiev's cage and the effort finally paid off. The fourth line scored an important goal when Joel Armia wrong-footed defender Samuel Girard.
The Finn's leap to put the puck into the cage was well calculated and allowed him to score his seventh goal of the season – with no mention of an assist.
The young CH players also livened up the attack. Juraj Slafkovsky evened the score to 1-1 in the first period by completing the play of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard took a load off his shoulders when he scored his first goal of the season in the second period. After 15 games, including two since his return from injury, the Quebecer was still unable to shake the strings, but he finally achieved success thanks to a second attempt in the slot.
None other than Caufield scored the Canadian's third goal, giving the local favorites a temporary lead for the first time of the evening. The small forward scored on the power play for the second duel in a row.
Jake Allen delivered with 32 saves in front of the talented Avalanche players. He frustrated Nathan MacKinnon seven times, but Ross Colton, Cale Makar and Devon Toews thwarted him.
Montreal will play its next three games on the road, starting with a stop at the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
8:00 p.m. – End of the meeting.
3:50 p.m. – BUT MTL 4-3 Joel Armia works hard in front of the net and manages to beat Alexandar Georgiev. His seventh goal of the season puts Montreal in the lead again.
09:37 – GOAL COLUMN 3-3 Devon Toews' shot deflects off Jayden Struble and lands behind Jake Allen. His seventh goal of the season allows Colorado to draw.
08:56 – Jake Evans and Josh Manson are being hunted. We play four against four.
06:11 – Jordan Harris receives a penalty. The Avalanche will develop a numerical advantage.
01:52 – BUT MTL 3-2 Cole Caufield hits the goal on the power play. His 13th of the season puts Montreal ahead. Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson get assists.
00:29 – Mikko Rantanen 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.
16:08 – BUT MTL 2-2 Rafael Harvey-Pinard recovers himself and hits the target. His first goal of the season allowed Montreal to equalize. Jake Evans and Brendan Gallagher get assists.
11:18 – Rafael Harvey-Pinard receives a penalty. The Avalanche play five-on-three.
09:43 – Joel Armia receives a penalty. The Avalanche will develop a numerical advantage.
01:01 – GOAL COLUMN 2-1 Cale Makar takes advantage of the traffic in front of the net to shoot a shot that beats Jake Allen. His tenth goal of the season puts Colorado in the lead again. Samuel Girard and Nathan MacKinnon get assists.
00:00 – Start of period.
FIRST PERIOD
8:00 p.m. – End of period.
07:17 – BUT MTL 1-1 Juraj Slafkovsky fights for his own return and scores on the power play. His fifth goal of the season allows Montreal to draw the game. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are accomplices.
06:53 – Sam Malinski receives a penalty. The Canadians will play on the power play.
04:28 – GOAL COL 1-0 Ross Colton fights for his own return and hits the goal on the power play. His tenth goal of the season puts Colorado in the lead. Jonathan Drouin and Cale Makar get assists.
03:10 – Michael Pezzetta receives a penalty. The Avalanche will develop a numerical advantage.
00:00 – Start of the game.
In front of the net
Alexandar Georgiev Record: 24-9-2 / Goals Against Average: 2.86 / Efficiency Rate: 89.8%
Jake Allen Record: 4-8-2 / Goals Against Average: 3.52 / Efficiency Rate: 90.0%
Training from trainer Martin St-Louis