The Montreal Canadiens upset the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 7 in four games to move on to the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canadiens won Games 1, 3 and 4 while the Penguins won Game 2. The Canadiens were also one of few teams to pull off an upset on “elimination Friday”. Here is a recap of Game 5 between the Canadiens and Penguins.
The Penguins controlled the game for the majority of the period getting scoring chances from its superstar players. Their offense looked great but couldn’t convert anything from it. But, the Canadiens started to build momentum and made the battle a bit closer for the Penguins to battle through.
The game was tied at zero heading into the second period.
This period was all about the Canadiens and their offense. They also outshot the Penguins 6-5 during the period. Pittsburgh had trouble on the defensive end and turned the puck over way too many times. However, there were spurts of scoring chances the Penguins had but Canadiens goaltender Carey Price kept the puck out of the net.
The game was still tied at zero heading into the third period.
The Canadiens carried their momentum from the last period into this period. Again, the Penguins couldn’t sustain a solid defensive game at the start of the period. The Penguins had a good five minutes of momentum on their side but still couldn’t get the puck past Price. One reason why Pittsburgh was still in this game was because of their goaltender Tristan Jarry. However, Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen scored the game winning goal and got the game’s first goal. And, Canadiens captain Shea Weber scored an empty netter with 31 seconds left to seal the game.
Montreal won the game 2-0 and the series 3-1.
Third Star: Jeff Petry (4 hits)
Second Star: Artturi Lehkonen (1 goal)
First Star: Carey Price (22 saves)
Montreal will face the Philadelphia Flyers during the first round of the playoffs. This should be just as interesting as this series was. They face the other Pennsylvania team in the Flyers that has a more solid offensive and defensive game. On paper, the Flyers should breeze through the Canadiens but that’s what everybody said about the Penguins as well. Don’t sleep on the Canadiens. They’re looking to make noise during the playoffs.
On the other hand, the Penguins’ run to capture their third Stanley Cup in the last four seasons has ended. Penguins players have said that they have a lot more to offer. Not much should change with the franchise in terms of players being traded or front office changes.
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