NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Pittsburgh Penguins
Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens faced the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night, aiming to build on the momentum they created by beating the very same team at the Bell Cenre on Saturday night.

It was a milestone evening for Sidney Crosby, ending with a 4-3 shootout win for his Penguins.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Speed In Transition

Things started perfectly for the Canadiens, as rookie Oliver Kapanen scored his 11th goal of the year while completing a very nice passing play by Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky.

Given that these three tend to have a hard time at 5v5, it’s always very encouraging to see them not just score a goal, but put together the type of play that involves so much speed through the neutral zone.

With the goal, Kapanen joined Beckett Sennecke as the NHL’s top rookie goalscorer, which is quite a feat, all things considered.

Crosby Excellence

While we mostly focus on the Habs in our coverage, there’s no denying that getting a chance to watch Sidney Crosby in action is a privilege for all hockey fans around the world.

On Saturday, the Canadiens did all they could to slow down Crosby, but we all knew that would not last.

Crosby tied the great Mario Lemieux for the most points in Penguins franchise history by scoring his 20th goal of the year, a testament to his ability to drive offence in the later stages of his career.

He then quickly followed it up with another point, assisting on Rickard Rakell’s fourth goal of the year, and officially passing Lemieux for the most points in franchise history, with 1724.

Few have been better for longer, cementing Crosby’s rightful place among the greatest players in NHL history.

Always More Shots

The Canadiens tied the game early in the second period, thanks to yet another excellent pass via Slafkovsky, who is doing a great job driving the play up ice with haste in December.

It’s a lesson that all rookies eventually learn, and it seems like Demidov is already ahead of the curve when it comes to showing a little more greed when a shooting situation arises.

His eighth goal of the year tied the game at 2-2, but more importantly, it added a much-needed dose of confidence to the mix for the 19-year-old forward.

It was easily among the best games of the season for the rookie-laden second line, which worked out well, as the first line struggled to find their rhythm on Sunday night.

Questionable Defending

With the Penguins up 3-2, Noah Dobson picked the perfect time to score his fifth goal of the year, though we do have to give credit to the Penguins for the assist, as they decided to run interference on their own goaltender, needlessly pushing Owen Beck into the crease.

Regardless, it was an important goal, as the Canadiens were having a hard time keeping up with the pace of the play since Crosby’s milestone moment earlier in the game.

We also have to give some credit to Samuel Blais, who registered an assist in his very first game with the Montreal Canadiens.

Skills Competition

In the end, the game necessitated a shootout, where the Penguins did a much better job than the Canadiens, preventing the road team from banking six points in their season series.

It should be noted that none of the second line players were given an opportunity in the shootout, despite being the clear-cut dominant line versus the Penguins.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday, facing the Bruins in Boston. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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