Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho celebrates after the winning goal in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 3.Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
The Montreal Canadiens continue to suffer from a home ice disadvantage as they lost another game at the Bell Centre on Monday night to drop Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes in overtime, digging a 2-1 deficit in the series that will leave one team playing for the Stanley Cup.
Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-winner on a shot from the point at 14:06 in the extra frame to give Carolina a 3-2 win, setting up a crucial Game 4 on Wednesday in Montreal.
The Canadiens will be asking themselves hard questions about an offense that seems addicted to over-passing after registering only one shot on goal in OT and being outshot 38-13 overall.
The Habs have played worse at home than on the road during these playoffs, to the tune of a 2-4 record at the Bell Centre against seven wins and three losses in Tampa, Buffalo, and Raleigh heading into Monday night. Head coach Martin St. Louis has chalked up the disparity to his team being overeager to perform for their riotously passionate fans.
Sure enough, as the hometown crowd brought the roof down, the Hurricanes had the better of the chances early on, while the Habs tried to do too much. Forwards not known for their physicality, such as Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach, threw overzealous checks that did them more damage than their targets. During their first powerplay, five minutes into the first, the Canadiens had trouble even gaining the zone.
Then, with 11:36 to go in the frame, it happened again: the visitors scored first at the Bell Centre, this time on a rebound that defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere swatted into an open net.
Carving out more room to operate for his skill players was a priority for St. Louis after a smothering performance by Carolina in Game 2. They had no such luck early in Game 3, stymied by a tireless backcheck that refused to let the Canadiens establish themselves in the offensive zone.
The Canadiens didn’t help themselves with their habit, verging on a neurosis, of passing ad nauseum while looking for the perfect scoring chance. They seemed determined to shoot more on Monday night but struggled to find daylight, often firing into a thicket of sticks and shinpads. The shots on goal in regulation finished 32-12 in Carolina’s favour.
A pattern is emerging in this series, in which the Habs try to play downhill, attacking hockey, while Carolina squeezes them with airtight pressure – not so much a stone wall as a series of booby traps laid all over the ice – before feasting on the pucks they jar loose.
When Montreal escapes, however, it can be a thing of beauty. They first broke the pattern when Russian prodigy Ivan Demidov found acres of space to work behind the net with four-and-a-half minutes left in the first, before firing an inch-perfect pass to workhorse defenseman Mike Matheson in the high slot. The native of Montreal’s West Island suburbs is dangerous there and made no mistake.
Montreal’s momentum was snuffed out just a minute later by another rebound banged home by veteran Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall, a gritty effort goal added to Carolina’s tally.
Lane Hutson is congratulated by Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield after scoring in Game 3.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
The Canadiens’ raw talent couldn’t be thwarted for long, though. Less than five minutes into the second period, Hutson and Caufield – the team’s two shortest players, both likely to be carded at the liquor store – used the man advantage to work a thrilling give-and-go from the red line almost to the mouth of the goal, where Hutson patiently tapped it home. It was the apotheosis of these Canadiens.
A scary hit to Hutson’s knee along the defensive zone boards late in Game 2 had some fans worried about the availability of their sparkplug for Game 3, but he showed no signs of injury on Monday night, when he often looked like the most dynamic player on the ice.
Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes had another run of game-saving stops in an up-tempo second period after giving up too many rebounds in the first. He has been brilliant during these playoffs, especially in clutch moments, and chants of “Doby! Doby!” rang out after every acrobatic save.
Few expected the Habs to seriously challenge the more battle-tested Hurricanes, who swept the first two rounds and are now playing in their fourth conference final in eight years under head coach Rod Brind’Amour.
But hopes have been raised after a split in the road in Raleigh that saw them blow out Carolina in Game 1 and force overtime in Game 2. Captain Nick Suzuki declared himself “confident” his team can beat the Hurricanes in a series now, and the noise in the Bell Centre on Monday said that the fans are confident too.
Montreal is truly in love with this young group, deftly built by hometown general manager Kent Hughes from basement-dwellers just a few seasons ago into a squad that promises to be perennial contenders for years to come. Fresh-faced stars like Nick Suzuki (26 years old), Caufield (25), Juraj Slafkovsky (22), and Hutson (22) are all signed to long-term deals.
But for now, the present looks precarious as a team full of promise still learns to play with the burden of expectation at home, and to follow that oldest hockey adage: shoot the puck.