The Montreal Canadiens allowed five unanswered goals to the Vegas Golden Knights in a 5-2 loss Saturday at the Bell Centre.
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After going up 2-0 in a dominant first period, the Canadiens allowed three unanswered goals in the second and two empty netters in the third to lose 5-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
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Vegas goalie Robin Lehner made 18 saves in the first period to keep his team alive and 36 total in the victory.
It was a rematch of last season’s conference final, with admittedly less bite. The Habs have undergone significant roster changes since and the Golden Knights were without Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and William Karlsson because of injury, not to mention recently acquired Jack Eichel, out for the foreseeable future with a neck injury. Jonathan Drouin, Brendan Gallagher and Nick Suzuki were all game-time decisions, but only Drouin sat out in the end.
It appeared the Habs were poised to feast on the injury-depleted Golden Knights as they played arguably their best period of the season in the first, outshooting Vegas 20-1 and returning to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead. It took Montreal the bulk of the period to hit the scoresheet. Suzuki opened scoring on the power play with under three minutes remaining, on the doorstep after Mike Hoffman got two chances on Lehner. Suzuki now has goals in three straight games and Hoffman got his 400th career assist on the play.
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Just over 90 seconds later, Tyler Toffoli scored his second in as many games. Gallagher sprung him on a breakaway, then he beat Lehner with a backhand for the 2-0 marker.
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The Habs opened the second with a power play, and although the unit was clicking, they couldn’t extend the lead. Shortly after, the crowd voiced its displeasure when the referees didn’t call a penalty on Alec Martinez for taking down Jake Evans on a potential break, only for Ben Chiarot to receive a delay of game penalty afterward. Eleven seconds into the ensuing power play, Alex Pietrangelo wired a one-timer past Jake Allen to pull Vegas to within one. Remarkably, it was Vegas’ first power-play goal of the season.
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The Golden Knights tied it up just past the midway point of the second. Nicolas Hague sent a shot to the back boards that fortuitously bounced in front to Nicolas Roy, who passed it through the crease to a wide open Jonathan Marchessault. The latter placed a backhand over the stick of a sliding Allen to tie the game 2-2.
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On the next shift, Cédric Paquette (who just returned from a two-game suspension) went to the box for cross-checking. Vegas capitalized on the power play once again, taking a 3-2 lead. Dylan Coghlan walked in from the point and shot through both Keegan Kolesar the screen and Allen to deliver a decisive blow to the reeling Canadiens.
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Stu Cowan said aloud what Habs fans were thinking:
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The Habs had about a minute of power-play time to end the second and start the third, but couldn’t tie the game. Montreal failed to score on another man-advantage early in the third with Jake Leschyshyn in the box. Late in the third, Leschyshyn returned to the sin bin after head-locking Artturi Lehkonen, this time taking the Habs forward with him. The Canadiens pulled their goalie during the 4-on-4 situation to give themselves a de facto power play, but Chandler Stephenson took advantage of a bouncing puck on Chris Wideman to take it down the ice by his lonesome for the easy empty-netter. Allen was pulled again, but Brayden McNabb scored another with seconds remaining to give Vegas a 5-2 win.
Hoffman was upset after chasing down the McNabb empty net goal, slamming his stick in disgust. Petry was visibly unhappy on the bench as well. The Habs have lost their fair share of five-goal games this season, but this one stings a little more given the initial 2-0 goal lead. Fifteen points separate the division leading Florida Panthers from the cellar dwelling 3-10 Canadiens. The Liveblog commenters were feeling a lot of rage and disappointment at the Habs for finding new ways to lose.
3. “How the hell do the canadiens blow a 2-0 lead and lose 5-2, while out shooting Vegas 38-18, unacceptable. Time to bring out those paper bags, in the words of the late Peter Finch, we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.” -Ryan Katz
2. “What is Eric Staal doing ?” -Jason Upnorth
1. “Enough said about this game. MTL will lose a lot of games like this in 2021-22. Not unlike earlier years. Inability to finish, can’t hold a lead, atrocious PK, suspect goaltending. This isn’t gonna change. But here’s the good news… LA is a .500 team and on the back end of a back-to-back Tuesday. As projected a week ago, this game is a likely two points. It better be. If Habs lose Tuesday, against a weak rebuilding team like the Kings — it’s time, Geoff. We’ve all seen enough.” -Rudi Hittisau
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvaG9ja2V5L25obC9ob2NrZXktaW5zaWRlLW91dC9hYm91dC1sYXN0LW5pZ2h0LWhhYnMtc3F1YW5kZXItZG9taW5hbnQtZmlyc3QtaW4tNS0yLWxvc3PSAacBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9ob2NrZXkvbmhsL2hvY2tleS1pbnNpZGUtb3V0L2Fib3V0LWxhc3QtbmlnaHQtaGFicy1zcXVhbmRlci1kb21pbmFudC1maXJzdC1pbi01LTItbG9zcy93Y20vMTRmMDFkMWItNmJlZi00NTc3LTk2NjUtNmFjNzgyZmE0ZTU4L2FtcC8?oc=5
2021-11-07 12:22:30Z
CBMieWh0dHBzOi8vbW9udHJlYWxnYXpldHRlLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvaG9ja2V5L25obC9ob2NrZXktaW5zaWRlLW91dC9hYm91dC1sYXN0LW5pZ2h0LWhhYnMtc3F1YW5kZXItZG9taW5hbnQtZmlyc3QtaW4tNS0yLWxvc3PSAacBaHR0cHM6Ly9tb250cmVhbGdhemV0dGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9ob2NrZXkvbmhsL2hvY2tleS1pbnNpZGUtb3V0L2Fib3V0LWxhc3QtbmlnaHQtaGFicy1zcXVhbmRlci1kb21pbmFudC1maXJzdC1pbi01LTItbG9zcy93Y20vMTRmMDFkMWItNmJlZi00NTc3LTk2NjUtNmFjNzgyZmE0ZTU4L2FtcC8
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