Habs Make Late Comeback and Beat Panthers In Shootout

Tuesday night was sort of a trap game as the Habs played a much weaker and battered Panthers team but weren’t able to execute on their game plan. In all honesty, the Habs looked like they were playing with the same fatigue that led to them getting shutout on Sunday. The only difference is that the Devils still had their star players like Jack Hughes in the lineup, whereas the Panthers’ star players are either injured or taking a leave of absence (Matthew Tkachuk for the birth of his child). As a result, the Habs were able to complete a victory with their late surge.

Suzuki seems to have a knack for scoring big goals for the Habs vs. the Panthers, as once again he was the one to score the game-tying marker. Every one of his goals against the Panthers seems to either be a game-tying marker or a game-winner. Hopefully that goal that forced overtime and the shootout help the Habs gain energy and motivation to play their best game for Thursday’s huge matchup with the division lead on the line against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tuesday night saw some changes to the lineup. Alexandre Texier, who made his way back to the lineup, was placed on a line with Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov. Kirby Dach also came back from an injury that made him miss 11 games and went back to the line he was last placed on with Zack Bolduc and Jake Evans. Meanwhile, Oliver Kapanen moved onto the 4th line with Josh Anderson and Phillip Danault, which honestly was one of the team’s as they were good on the forecheck and had multiple scoring chances. That line showed more energy on it than when Brendan Gallagher was there, and Danault even got a goal, which might mean that the veteran could lose his spot as a regular soon.

Gallagher was one of the players who came out of the lineup to get rest after a long road, and he will likely make his return to the lineup soon, but if he continues to slow his linemates down, it may be time for a permanent change. The other forward who came out was Joe Veleno, who was sick and wasn’t at practice on Tuesday morning before the game.

On defence, Kaiden Guhle was listed with a minor lower-body injury, which gave him the night off in favour of Adam Engstrom, who recorded his first NHL point with an assist on the night. He was on a pairing with Arber Xhekaj and played decently in his first NHL game since January 1st. It will be interesting to see if Engstrom gets more games down the stretch to let Guhle’s injuries heal.

The Habs started Tuesday’s game very sluggishly and were outshot 8-1 early in the first period, which included a goal by Carter Verhaeghe getting by Jakub Dobes, who was doing a good job keeping his team in the game once again. Verhaeghe’s goal came after a rebound shot by Donovan Sebrango landed right on his stick at the side of the net, where he was able to get the puck past Dobes before he could slide across for the save and make it 1-0 Panthers. Despite that goal, Dobes had a solid period stopping 10 of 11 shots to keep the Habs within striking distance after the first period.

It would work out well, as the Canadiens would capitalize on the power play just 54 seconds into the 2nd period. Cole Caufield would make a cross-ice pass near the point to Ivan Demidov, who would one-time a shot into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1 with his 18th of the season. With how many shooting lanes are being blocked for Caufield, he has been getting to show his underrated playmaking to get his team scoring goals over the past couple of games. On Tuesday night, he didn’t seem to get many chances to get his 50th goal, and instead, he, alongside his teammates, turned their attention elsewhere to create offence. Hopefully it comes in the next few games, but it seems like they won’t try to force anything if it doesn’t there, which is best for the team.

Later in the 2nd period, Panthers forward Cole Reinhardt would knock a puck loose in the neutral zone, which allowed him to force a breakaway to create himself a prime scoring chance after outskating Arber Xhekaj to the puck. On the initial shot, he would miss, and the puck would go behind the net. However, Reinhardt would immediately bank the puck off the back of Dobes’s pads and into the net to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. This was a play that Dobes likely would want back, as he played too aggressively on Reinhardt, which backfired, as there ended up being a lot of space to bank it off him and in. Overall it was a smart hockey play by Reinhardt that made Dobes look bad.

The Habs were down 2-1 and were behind 21-14 in shots after two people played against a team they should be beating but couldn’t seem to find their legs. Luckily, thanks to the 4th line of Anderson, Danault, and Kapanen, the Habs would get a nice boost of energy during the 3rd period. With a delayed penalty coming, Engstrom would feed Noah Dobson, who sent it into the slot for Danault to fire it past Daniil Tarasov to tie the game 6:22 into the 3rd period. This was Danault’s first goal and point in his last 15 games. He has shown that he has been finding his offence slowly by creating chances in the offensive zone; it was only a matter of time that he or another one of his linemates would finally convert.

Unfortunately, the good vibes wouldn’t last long, as 1:27 after Danault’s goal, Panthers forward Eetu Luostarinen would score his 10th of the season to put the Panthers ahead once again. Luostarinen would tip a gust Forsling point shot in the slot that would beat Dobes, after Suzuki failed to tie up his stick, instead allowing the great tip that would give the Panthers yet another lead.

The Habs would start pushing more to get that tying goal, and it would take a while, but eventually the Habs would capitalize. A few minutes before the Habs tied the game, Caufield would have a chance to score at the side of the net with an open net, but the Panthers’ defensemen would get in the way, preventing him from scoring his 50th goal of the season.

Finally, thanks to Lane Hutson rushing up ice with the puck, the Canadiens were able to tie the game with 30 seconds left in regulation. Hutson would rush in after a pass in the neutral before going behind the net, where he would pass it into the slot to Suzuki, who was able to tap it in past Tarasov, who was out of position, to tie the game. Captain Suzuki came up clutch by tying the game against the Panthers once again. With that goal, Suzuki recorded his 96th point, which ties Pierre Turgeon for the most points in a season by a Habs player since their last Stanley Cup in 1993. He now has four games to reach the 100-point mark, and he can do it by simply getting a point in each game.

After Suzuki tied it, Hutson would draw a late high-sticking penalty with 12 seconds left in regulation, giving the Habs a power play that would carry into overtime. During that power play in overtime, the Haba searched for the perfect shot, but it never came, and they instead took shots that Tarasov could see easily. Once the power play was over, it was Dobes’ turn to come up big by robbing the Panthers on a few occasions to force a shootout.

It was all Habs in the shootout as Caufield would start things off with a goal (which ended up being the game winner) before Dobes stopped Luostarinen in the 1st round. Then Texier would go and beat Tarasov, putting the pressure on Sam Bennett to score, but once again Dobes made the save, giving the Habs yet another victory.

It wasn’t the prettiest win or even one that the Habs necessarily deserved, but it was an important two points to finish Tuesday in a three-way tie for first in the Atlantic with the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning. The next game will be Thursday night when they take on the Lightning for a chance to claim first place in the division. It should be a game that the Habs will get up and be ready to play as, despite winning most of their games lately, they have played down to their opponents on occasion.