Patrik Laine scored the overtime winner in a wild back-and-forth 5-4 win for the Montreal Canadiens over the New York Rangers on Sunday night at the Bell Centre.
The Rangers and Canadiens alternated scoring goals all night until the very end, when Juraj Slafkovsky tied it up in the third period and Laine ended it in three-on-three.
Jakub Dobes made 23 stops in his first start at the Bell Centre, but saved his best for overtime, when he shut the door on the Rangers after his teammates got hemmed in their own zone. Dobes is now 5-0 to start his NHL career.
With an assist on the night, Lane Hutson set a franchise record for a rookie defenceman with points in eight consecutive contests.
After a slow start with only four shots total in the first 10 minutes, the Rangers opened scoring when the puck bounced behind the glass and over the net. The puck landed right in front for a waiting Alexis Lafrenière and he beat Dobes for his 12th of the season. 1-0 Rangers.
About two-and-a-half minutes later, Brendan Gallagher nearly deflected a Christian Dvorak shot with a high-stick, but his stick was just under the bar and the puck beat Jonathan Quick to tie the game 1-1.
Only 46 seconds later, the Rangers regained the lead when Arber Xhekaj coughed up the puck to Will Cuylle, who beat Dobes cleanly to make it 2-1.
Tempers flared soon after when Josh Anderson and Braden Schneider slammed each other on the ice.
In the second, Matthew Rempe finally got his wish to drop the gloves with Xhekaj, and he may have regretted it. Rempe got an additional roughing penalty for his troubles.
Montreal nearly tied it a couple of times on the subsequent power play, but it was only when they got back to even-strength before Dvorak came up with the 2-2 equalizer.
Josh Anderson left for the dressing room after an awkward collision with Arthur Kaliyev. He returned before the end of the second, only to take a cross-checking penalty. On the ensuing power play, Mika Zibanejad scored to give New York a 3-2 lead.
With 4:55 left in the second, Nick Suzuki intercepted the puck in the offensive zone and beat Quick from the slot to tie the game 3-3.
Before the second period was out, Chris Kreider regained the lead for the Rangers only 1:15 later with a goal-mouth tap-in. Adam Fox had his second assist of the night.
In the third period, the Canadiens tied it up once again. Hutson dished to Cole Caufield off the rush, and Juraj Slafkovsky cashed in on the rebound from in tight before eating the crossbar. 4-4.
Habs fired 16 shots at Quick in the third period, but still needed overtime to seal the deal. In the extra period, Patrik Laine played the hero with the game-winner at 3:20. At the other end, Dobes kept the game alive with two highlight-reel saves to bail out his tired linemates.
It was more than a come-from-behind win for the Habs. Collecting two points from the Rangers also washed out the bitter taste of Saturday’s blown lead against the Maple Leafs.
It was also an entertaining battle, with numerous lead changes, acrobatic saves and fisticuffs. On Saturday, Xhekaj may have spurred on the Leafs’ comeback by taunting Ryan Reaves, but this time, he energized his club and the Bell Centre faithful by raising his fist after pummelling Rempe.
Owen Beck was recalled before the game from the AHL’s Laval Rocket and played 8:13 in his season debut.
Earlier in the day, the club also announced its First and Second Quarter-Century Teams. Here they are:
First club: Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov, Shea Weber, Carey Price.
Second club: Nick Suzuki, Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Sheldon Souray, P.K. Subban, Jose Théodore.
It was a last-shot-wins sort of affair yesterday, so you know the Liveblog commenters were feeling the heat. Here’s what they had to say:
3. “Regardless of the OT win and the 5-0 winning streak for Dobes HuGo made a promise to be in the mix … the Habs have delivered. Great to see those who remain(ed) so negative on the rebuilt, team, Molson turn the page and cheer the last month. Good that they realize how wrong they were by now becoming supporters.” — Rick Woods
2. “I usually go away in January to the sun. But no way I was going this year and missing all this Habs excitement. I’ll go away another time.” — Marc Taillefer
1. “What a comeback after that torture of a letdown last night. p.s. dobes is the real thing.” — Steven Morris