Sabtu, 23 November 2019

Canadiens blow commanding 4-0 lead as Rangers roar back to win 6-5 - Montreal Gazette

Montreal's losing streak is extended to four games.

The dormant Canadiens offence came to life Saturday with five goals, but it wasn’t enough as the New York Rangers stormed back from a 4-0 deficit and defeated the Canadiens 6-5 at the Bell Centre.

While the offence was good, the defence was horrid and Jacob Trouba’s goal at 12:10 of the third period provided the Rangers with the winning margin as the Canadiens’ losing streak extended to four games.

The Canadiens appeared to have this one locked down when Artturi Lehkonen scored his second goal of the game to give Montreal a 5-3 lead early in the third period. But Artemi Panarin, who had been kept under wraps for most of the game, brought the Rangers back to within a goal when he scored 31 seconds later on his first shot of the night.

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price reacts as New York Rangers’ Filip Chytil (not pictured) scored a goal during the second period at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Jean-Yves Ahern / USA TODAY Sports

Brendan Lemieux, whose father Claude started his 20-year NHL career with the Canadiens, tied the game with a short-handed goal. It was his second goal of the game.

Claude Julien’s decision to move Max Domi back to centre paid an immediate dividend when the feisty forward opened the scoring at 2:04 of the first period. Lehkonen centred the puck from the side boards and Nick Suzuki slid the puck through the crease to Domi.

It was the first of two goals for Domi, who had been moved to the wing to accommodate Suzuki in the middle. The two switched positions again after Julien said it became obvious Domi was more comfortable at centre. He came into the game with only two assists in his last nine games.

The opening goal goal came shortly after Tomas Tatar left the game following a hit to the head from Chris Kreider. There was no penalty on the play and Tatar was sent to the quiet room to go through the NHL concussion protocol. However, he returned in the second period.

Domi scored his sixth goal of the season in the final minute of the first period to give Montreal a commanding 3-0 lead.

Lehkonen, who has struggled to find the back of the net, beat Alexandar Georgiev midway through the period, shooting off the rush after a pass from fellow Finn Joel Armia. It was Lehkonen’s fourth goal of the season and his second in three games.

The Rangers made things interesting after Shea Weber put a slap shot through Gergiev to make it 4-0 with his seventh goal of the season. New York scored three goals in a 3:21 span.

Filip Chytil ended Carey Price’s shutout bid at 6:10 of the second period and the bounce didn’t go Montreal’s way when Pavel  Buchnevich was credited with a goal that bounced off defenceman Cale Fleury’s leg.

The Canadiens killed three Rangers’ power plays in the second period, but there has to be an asterisk attached to that figure because Phil Danault was stepping out of the penalty box when Adam Fox’s shot from the blue line deflected off Lemieux in front. Fox had a chance to tee up the shot because Weber fanned on two attempts to clear the puck.

phickey@postmedia.com

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November 24, 2019 at 10:07AM

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