|
In Hainsight: Ugly End to an Ugly Game |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
It’s a shame really, Samuel Montembeault deserved better. In the first period, he stood on his head and allowed the Habs to stay in the game, even preventing the Panthers from capitalizing on two power play opportunities.
The young netminder couldn’t do everything himself though and on yet another man-advantage early in the 2nd, the Panthers found the back of the net for a goal that was the turning point of the game. Martin St-Louis challenged the goal for goaltender interference since Matthew Tkachuk was in the crease and made contact with Montembeault as he was attempting to stop the puck. However, the officials decided that there was no goaltender interference and that it was a good goal, putting the Panthers back on the power play. The Cats weren’t going to miss that chance and they made it 2-0.
The NHL explanation of why the first goal was allowed to stand is mind boggling to me: “The contact between Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Montembeault had no bearing on the puck entering the net, therefore it didn’t constitute goaltender interference.” The only way this makes any sense is if the puck had crossed the line prior to the contact but watching the replay, that wasn’t the case. On top of this, the officials failed to call an interference penalty when Mike Matheson levelled Eric Staal in the first ending his night in the process. Matheson has been fined $5,000 for the play this morning, which goes to show that the refs really blew it there. The Panthers were understandably upset with the hit, the Canadiens were frustrated after falling behind 2-0 and the referees lost control of the game.
As if that wasn’t enough, a cross-checking penalty was called on Josh Anderson after minimal contact with Radko Gudas who fell over like a house of cards, amazing how such a tough guy can be affected by a little push. Of course, Florida scored on that power play as well. After the Panthers added a 4th goal, the Canadiens lost what little focus they had left and got a pair of too many men on the ice penalties in quick succession. At the end of the 2nd frame, the Panthers lead 5-0 and Samuel Montembeault had been left out to dry by his teammates. 5 goals on 33 shots doesn’t give you a great save percentage, but none of those goals were his fault. Saying that the refs had a rough night was an understatement, but that doesn’t give the Habs the right to lose their concentration and implode.
Mercifully, St-Louis elected to send Cayden Primeau in net for the final frame, after telling Montembeault that none of this was his fault. Thankfully, the Canadiens got back into playing mode for the third and were able to get a couple of goals back, but it was too much, too little, too late. As was to be expected though, things still got ugly in the last 20 minutes, Matthew Tkachuk fought with Mike Matheson as retaliation for the hit on Staal, Xhekaj fought with Givani Smith, the Habs defender was on the receiving end of a dangerous hit that went unsanctioned in the 2nd, and Michael Pezzetta fought Ryan Lomberg. At one stage, Kirby Dach levelled Radko Gudas who didn’t like it one bit and went after the Habs’ forward knee shorthy thereafter, an act that went uncalled. This truly was an ugly end to an ugly game.
To be fair, the Panthers were the better team last night, they would have won even if the referees had an acceptable night, but you can see the bright side of things, that was yet another good development opportunity. It’s a shame, but missed calls and weird decisions are part of this sport, even in the best league in the world, you’ve got to learn to deal with it, keep your emotions in check and keep your wits about you.
Hopefully, the lesson will have been learnt and next time, the Canadiens will be able to shake it off before it’s too late. Montreal will be back in action tomorrow against the Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre and it’s got the makings of yet another tough game.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»