The Canadiens defeat the Jets in a shootout

As for the Jets, it was without Connor Hellebuyck that the club travelled to Montreal, with the star goaltender sidelined by injury.

Here’s the visitors’ line-up:

Before the game, a ceremony was held to pay tribute to Andrei Markov… and the defenseman was warmly welcomed by the crowd.

Here’s the full ceremony, for those who missed it:

The game then got underway, and the first few minutes were fairly quiet… until Adam Lowry put the kibosh on it.

The Jets captain hit Alexandre Carrier solidly, and Arber Xhekaj went to defend his teammate. That’ll do the Sheriff’s confidence a world of good.

But in the minutes that followed, it was the Jets who opened the scoring instead.

Mark Scheifele, a much-maligned player in Montreal, scored the first goal of the game.

After 20 minutes, the Jets had a 1-0 lead.

But in the second, the Habs struck back. The club’s powerplay, which has picked up steam recently, was at it again.

Juraj Slafkovský scored this time.

Shortly afterwards, however, the Canadiens found themselves caught in their own zone, and with a stick missing(Slaf no longer had his).

And as fate would have it, Kyle Connor restored the Jets’ lead.

But despite everything, the Habs once again fought back. This time, it was Ivan Demidov’s line that came to the fore, as he made a beautiful play in the corner to pass the puck to Oliver Kapanen.

And Kapanen scored a beautiful goal.

After 40 minutes, the score was 2-2.

It was a third period in which both clubs had chances, but the goalkeepers were solid.

Jakub Dobes in particular was solid on a couple of occasions.

After 60 minutes, the score was 2-2. So we needed extra time.

The Canadiens had a golden opportunity with Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Lane Hutson on the ice… but the three kids tried a few too many passes.

So we needed a shootout.

Cole Caufield scored , then Kyle Connor was frustrated by Jakub Dobes.

Alexandre Texier(yes yes) missed the target, then Mark Scheifele was also unable to score.

Nick Suzuki was frustrated by Eric Comrie, then Gabe Vilardi hit the post.

The Habs won the shootout.

Final score: 3-2 Montreal (TDB)

The Canadiens return to action on Saturday night, when they travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. Once again, it’s the start of a two-games-in-two-nights sequence.

Extended

– The Habs’ first line, which came together tonight, was very solid. Martin St-Louis opted to put together a winning formula, and it paid off. I have a feeling the three guys will be back together for a while.

– Cole Caufield… the passer?

– The line formed by Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen and Alexandre Texier was very effective on the ice tonight. We felt that Texier, a player with talent, was finally able to let his game speak for itself alongside the two youngsters… and we can assume that this line has earned itself another audition for the next game. The two youngsters were particularly good tonight.

– That’s very encouraging.

– Eric Comrie was really, really solid in front of the Jets net tonight. Almost made you forget about Hellebuyck, hehe.