Morning Coffee: Controversial call costs Habs, Oilers complete comeback

The Montreal Canadiens were robbed of a win.

It really is that simple.

When Brendan Gallagher redirected a shot from the point past Matt Murray to give the Habs a 5-4 lead over the Ottawa Senators in the final seconds of regulation, it should have been the game.

The official on the ice signalled that it was a good goal. The Senators responded with disbelief, rather than anger.

Game over.

Then, a funny thing happened.

The NHL situation room initiated a challenge.

Video review determined that Gallagher impaired Murray’s ability to play his position in the crease prior to the puck entering the net.

No goal.

Forget that Gallagher was directed into Murray by a Senators’ defenceman.

Ignore the fact that Gallagher was able to hit the ice, get back up, reset and then redirect a shot from the point past Murray all before the Ottawa netminder was able to reset in time to have a chance to make a save.

Anyone who took Montreal at -210 to win outright is just as upset as Habs fans.

That isn’t an excuse for a Canadiens side that needs to play a lot better than they did on Tuesday night if they are going to be a contender in the North Division.

Still, Montreal’s immediate outlook might look a lot different if that Gallagher goal stands.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday Feb. 24, 2021.

Habs Lose After Disallowed Goal

It’s easy to overlook what happened last night in Ottawa and let it go.

The problem is that if you do that it could happen again –and potentially on a much bigger stage.

Gallagher was rightfully fired up about the situation after the game.

So where do the Habs go from here?

Montreal has suddenly lost three straight and five of its past six overall.

Regardless of how the game ended, the fact is the Canadiens simply haven’t been good enough over the past week.

Now they are about to face a Winnipeg Jets’ side that is heating up in four of their next five games.

Montreal is still the second choice to win the North Division at +400 odds.

It will be interesting to see how much longer they remain in that spot behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (-275).

Oilers Rally To Beat Canucks

Sticking with NHL futures, the Edmonton Oilers are suddenly right back in the picture following a comeback win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

The Oilers (-140) fell behind 3-0 in the first period only to rally with four consecutive goals, including a three-goal explosion in the third period.

Dominik Kahun scored twice for Edmonton. Tyler Ennis netted the winner. Leon Draisaitl had three assists, including one on a power-play goal from Connor McDavid.

Edmonton has now won 10 of its past 12 overall.

The Oilers opened the year as the second choice to win the North Division but fell following a terrible start. The team is right back in it now as the third choice at +600 odds.

Edmonton has one more against Vancouver before a three-game set against Toronto.

Is it completely out of the realm of possibility that the Oilers could close the gap on the Maple Leafs during that upcoming series?

It’s certainly worth watching out for.

Meanwhile, the Canucks have dropped three straight and are just 2-8-2 over their past 12 games.

It isn’t going to get any easier for them either, with their next five games against Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.

Raptors Win Streak Ends

The Toronto Raptors’ season-high four-game win streak came to an end with a 109-102 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.

They also failed to cover the 4.5-point spread.

Norm Powell had a game-high 24 points. Fred VanVleet had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Raptors are right back in action tonight against the Miami Heat.

Toronto is currently a 2.5-point underdog – +115 on the money line.

The total is currently set at 214.5.

You can catch that game tonight on TSN4 and TSN5 at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.

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