Let’s face it. Games in Montreal are always total bullshit. The atmosphere, the on-ice product, the French. All of it combines into a shit smoothie that is force-fed to the Penguins.
But there was something starkly different about this game and I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Oh wait. Last night, the Pens didn’t try to put out a tire fire with gasoline, blowing off their eyebrows but still coming away with their appendages in place. There it is.
And while they still had a tendency to turn the puck over in the first, a late goal got them rolling. Maybe more importantly, after the anarchic display Monday night, Sullivan got himself a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering to rebuild these guys and make them structurally sound to the point where a 4-1 game was almost boring.
With the standings being the blood-soaked nightmarish hellscape that they are, a little boring is fine if the W comes.
FIRST PERIOD
You could argue that not a damn thing happened in the first 20 minutes because there weren’t 9 goals scored. There were, however, no less than 9 Penguin turnovers, most of which led to decent Montreal chances. Murr kept the Pens in it early on and was directly responsible for the lone goal of the first frame. And if you’re sitting there wondering why Murray played after getting shelled on Monday, it’s because HCMS owns stock in being the goddamn greatest.
Mike Sullivan says Murray starts despite him allowing 7 goals last start because he has a history of bouncing back and he needs game time
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) January 18, 2017
The only difference between these two teams was the lone goal, where the Habs very easily could’ve been up 1-0 or 2-0 instead. First, Schultz pinched and shot the puck right into Alex Galchenyuk to nearly spring him for a breakaway. Murray was aware and beat him to the loose puck faster than the sweet manwhores of Montreal will beat your meat to turn the Pens up ice. Hornqvist hit Malkin with a deft little pass as he motored through the neutral zone. Cole released and got up in support and ripped one behind Price. 1-0
https://gfycat.com/HelpfulIdioticBlueshark
About a minute later, Murray again bailed the Pens out after Rust turned the puck over trying to exit the zone. Rust redeemed himself bodying up and taking the puck from Shaw and Sheary was off to the races, splitting the Habs D worse than Kids in the Sandbox, only to get robbed by Price on the breakaway.
https://gfycat.com/IdioticOffbeatCardinal
Emelin won’t get nearly enough recognition for how cheap that slew foot was on Crosby. Underrated dirty player.
SECOND PERIOD
Early on, Radulov tripped up Crosby to give the Pens a PP and a chance to blow the game wide open. The only thing the Pens blew was dick on the peep. Shortly after it ended, Murray made some big save (again) and the Pens turned it up ice (again). Kunitz-Fehr-Wilson went to work on the cycle with Wilson making a deceptive reverse pass for Kunitz to get it to Fehr all alone in front. Even he won’t miss from there. 2-0
https://gfycat.com/ThriftySillyBooby
By the way, how good has Kunitz been the last few games playing in a 4th line role? Hint: Very. Sure, maybe his contract is a little pricey for a 4th liner, but then again, that model seems to be working for the Islanders.
Also good: Jake Guentzel. All this kid does is score goals regardless of the league. Did a hell of a job getting in on the dump in and forcing the turnover to Hornqvist. Give Cam Gaunce his first assist a Penguin, putting it on a platter for Guentzel to play a little Just The Tip. 3-0
https://gfycat.com/EachDeliciousCrow
But 33 seconds later, the Habs would strike back and finally find a way to beat Murray to make it a 2 goal game heading into the break. The Canadiens worked the perimeter well and made Maatta look painfully ordinary on two separate occasions. Andrighetto would get a little bit of luck out of his hard work with the puck going in off Murray’s paddle. 3-1
https://gfycat.com/LonelyGoodKillerwhale
THIRD PERIOD
Habs with 12 shots after 2 periods. Fewest shots they've had in a home GP vs. Pens is 18. Feb. 25, 1970 & March 29, 1986. Montreal won both.
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) January 19, 2017
https://gfycat.com/HospitableThreadbareIndiancow
Sheary is 4’3″ and dunked on Petry. What a play. Give Maatta his first in 63 games.
4-1. Game.
RANDOM NOTES
- Malkin now sitting at 50 points, tied with Sid and a couple behind that McDavid kid (who scored his 100th career point already last night). Look out.
- Murray playing the exact game you’d want from your starter after giving up 7, outplaying the best goalie on Earth in the process.
- Conor Sheary is blossoming into a true talent right before our very eyes. Ten points in his last 9 games is p good.
- Maybe Maatta’s goal will help him return to being the player he was before he was terrible.
Next game: Friday night in Raleigh against the dangerous Hurricanes. Do it.
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