About Last Night: Habs set up St-Jean clincher with Game 5 win
St-Jean #St-Jean
The Montreal Canadiens are a win away from the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals. On Tuesday, the Habs delivered a complete performance in their thorough 4-1 takedown of the Vegas Golden Knights to pull ahead 3-2 in their third-round playoff series. Nick Suzuki had three points in the victory, while Carey Price made 26 saves.
Were the Canadiens motivated by a certain high-profile defection? Maybe…
The Golden Knights changed things up before puck drop. Marc-André Fleury, who sat in favour of Robin Lehner in Game 4, was back in goal, while centre Chandler Stephenson returned from injury to play alongside slumping stars Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone. Early in the first, referees Eric Furlatt and Kelly Sutherland made it clear the missed calls that occurred Games 3 and 4 under Chris Lee and Dan O’Rourke would not be repeated here. Two minutes in, they made an example of Paul Byron, sending him to the box for cross-checking. The 0-11 Vegas power play was again shut out. At 8:45 in the period, Josh Anderson raced to the net and slipped the puck under Fleury. After the initial save, the puck spilled out into the crease, where Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the first man there. Kotkaniemi roofed it to give the Habs a 1-0 lead. In these playoffs, the Habs have been tough to break when they score first.
The snake-bitten Stone, still seeking his first point of the series, thought he had one when he jumped out in front from behind the net, beating Jon Merrill, but Price stretched out enough to force Stone to send the puck wide. He returned to the bench staring skyward. Besides linesman Jonny Murray taking a errand puck in the ear and some Fleury stickhandling adventures, the first period ended without incident. The Habs used their sticks to keep the Vegas offence stifled, although they were tied in shots 6-6.
Kotkaniemi entered exclusive company with his ninth career playoff goal before turning 21:
Vegas tinkered with their lines to start the second, putting Pacioretty with Reilly Smith and William Karlsson, and moving Jonathan Marchessault alongside Stone. Alex Pietrangelo thought he had a prime scoring chance when he was called for high-sticking on Kotkaniemi. The initial four-minute double minor was erased when the officials determined upon review the high-stick occurred during the player’s follow through, which is considered accidental and not a penalty. At 6:32, Eric Staal gave the Canadiens a 2-0 advantage. Staal jumped off the bench following a line change, allowing him to get into scoring position undisturbed. Suzuki made a precise pass from the boards and Staal beat Fleury high for his second goal of the playoffs.
Following the Staal goal, the Golden Knights started to unravel. Game 4 hero Nicolas Roy took a retaliatory high-sticking penalty on Lehkonen that sent the Canadiens to the power play. On the ensuing man-advantage, Suzuki picked Stone’s pocket at Montreal’s blueline, sending Corey Perry on a break. His lack of footspeed allowed two Golden Knights to catch up, but the veteran also found Cole Caufield on his wing. Perry passed back and Caufield one-timered it past a sliding Fleury to give the Habs a 3-0 lead. Soon after, Vegas took another penalty from frustration, this time Shea Theodore cross-checking Lehkonen.
With his team stunned, Fleury gave the Golden Knights a lift, stretching out his pad to stone Joel Armia in tight.
With under three minutes remaining in the second period, Stephenson drew a penalty with his speed, sending his team to the power play. Not only did the Golden Knights not score, their failure on special teams drew boos from the typically supportive Vegas faithful. The period ended with a 3-0 commanding lead for the Habs.
The Golden Knights needed offence in the third period, and they got it at 4:09 when former Habs captain Max Pacioretty scored his first of the series. On a set play off an offensive zone draw, Pacioretty got the puck behind the faceoff man. His first shot attempt through a screen skipped over his stick, but the second went top shelf blocker side on Price. Vegas showed signs of life, now down 3-1.
But that’s all the scoring Vegas could muster. Brendan Gallagher single-handedly cleared the puck while tangling with multiple Golden Knights, then chirped at them from the bench after they called for a penalty. Pacioretty set up Smith on the doorstep, but the shooter didn’t get all of it and Price was able to shut the door.
With the net empty, Tyler Toffoli chipped the puck off the glass, sending Suzuki off to the races, where he slipped the puck in the empty net to deliver the 4-1 dagger.
Price was once again in top form. His exploits on the road are officially record breaking.
Tuesday’s confident win in Vegas now sets up a potential Game 6 clincher in Montreal on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day this Thursday. Fête Nationale will need a little red to go along with the usual blue and white. The Habs still need to close it out, so don’t pop the champagne just yet, but the Liveblog commenters loved the effort Tuesday: