The Canadiens were not going to go down without a fight. They came storming out of the gate and scored just short of 3 minutes in while shorthanded. Xavier Ouellet shot on the boards behind Carter Hart and Joel Armia found himself alone in front of the net. He wasn't going to miss that opportunity and sent the puck in the back of the net. That might have been the only goal of the period but there was plenty of action. Gallagher clearly managed to channel his anger from last game and took it out on the Flyers. He was pushing everyone, getting in their face and sometimes flirting with the limit (he got a minor for high sticking). Thumbs up to Charles Hudon (who played his first career playoffs game) as well, he might only have had 5:43 of ice time but he used it wisely. In the first alone, he gave his stick to Weber on the back check when he realized that his captain was without a twig. A few minutes later, he also dished out a big hit in the offensive zone, allowing the Habs to regain possession. Midway through the first period, Voracek got a 4-minutes penalty for high sticking but Montreal failed to make the most of it.
The turning point of the game could have happened at 1:45 in the second period. The new and improved Jesperi Kotkaniemi was coming full speed to hit Travis Sanheim who decided to turn to try and absorb the hit, but KK crushed him in the boards. Sanheim’s face was cut and that was it for Kotkaniemi’s night. He received a major penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. To be honest, that was a harsh call by the refs and it made the Habs position even more precarious. I don’t think I need to remind you of how important Kotkaniemi has been for the team since the restart. Hockey twitter was alight with comments, Flyers fans calling for the Habs’ youngster’s head, Habs fan crucifying everyone’s favorite referee Chris Lee and saying he had just eliminated Montreal. Down 1-0 the Flyers weren’t going to miss this opportunity and scored twice during Kotkaniemi’s penalty. The Habs could have felt sorry for themselves after that, but they didn’t, they rose to the challenge. Less than 4 minutes later, Joel Armia scored his second of the game, threading the needle and beating Carter Hart short side right in the top corner. Just over a minute later, Brendan Gallagher showed some great hand-eye coordination and hit a home run past the goalie (Cammalleri in 2010 anyone?) to give the Habs their 1 goal lead back at 3-2. Said lead was almost doubled by Nick Suzuki, but after a coach’s challenge, the goal was waved off because Jonathan Drouin was about a mile offside.
With 20 minutes to go, the pressure was palpable, even through the television. The Tricolore played with fire, taking a couple of tripping penalties (but one of them was what can be called a “good penalty” on a breakaway) and of course, Philadelphia’s power play struck again through Joel Farabee. Once more, the Canadiens went right back to work and got the lead back 22 seconds later when Jonathan Droin, fully aware of the fact that his centre was free in front of the net, sent Suzuki a beauty of a no-look pass which he easily put past Hart. A few minutes later, Voracek was sent to the sin bin for a trip on Gallagher which relieved the pressure on the Habs for a couple of minutes. Then, the Flyers desperately tried to get the equalizing goal, pulling Hart, but they failed to do so. Instead, Philip Danault got the insurance marker of a Lehkonen pass. That 5th goal was one too many and a frustrated Sean Couturier bumped into the Finn, sending him to the ice. The diminutive winger jumped right back up and a good old-fashioned melee followed. A push here, a shove there, a headlock on Shea Weber… the table truly is set for game 6.
This was a huge 5-3 win for the Canadiens not only because it allowed them to stay alive but also because of the manner in which it was acquired. Things didn’t go according to plan and they stepped up. Joel Armia was very effective, Gallagher finally found the back of the net, Jonathan Drouin showed what he could do when he puts his mind to it and Brett Kulak got himself a couple of helpers. Furthermore, the power play produced a rare goal and while the penalty kill wasn’t perfect (all 3 of the Flyers goals came on the power play), it still managed to generate a shorthanded goal. Now, the Canadiens need to build off this and give another big performance on Friday. Clearly, the Flyers were not happy about tonight’s game and they will be looking for blood (perhaps literally) on Friday night. Tonight, Gallagher got under their skin and was chirping away at them from the bench, Kotkaniemi rocked Sanheim and Nick Suzuki was perhaps a little bit cocky, tapping Hart on the mask after the Habs had scored. Will this be enough to bring back the Broad Street Bullies? Could the Flyers be too busy trying to settle some scores and forget to care about the main one? I think it’s unlikely as Alain Vigneault will no doubt tell them that the most important thing is to put the Habs down for good by getting the all important 4th win… Watching Gallagher tonight though, I think he’ll be doing his very best to make them lose focus. He’ll have to thread carefully however the Flyers power play was deadly tonight so he would be ill advised to land in the box. Get ready Habs fans, we’re in for quite a ride come 7:00 PM on Friday night!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»