Marc Dumont
The Montreal Canadiens did a great job defending their lead in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final.
Once they overcame the Carolina Hurricanes’ early goal, not only did they maintain the offensive pressure, they also managed to put together one of the most impressive periods since the organization opted to begin the rebuild in earnest a few years ago.
With the Canadiens leading 4-1 early in the second period, it appeared that the Hurricanes were poised to take over the momentum, putting Montreal’s strong effort in the first period at risk of being forgotten.
At that point in the game, the Hurricanes controlled over 75% of the shot attempts, a recipe for disaster at 5v5.
Eric Robinson’s goal less than three minutes into the frame cut the lead to just 4-2, well within striking distance for a club such as the Hurricanes, which tends to put more rubber on net than any other NHL team. No other club in the league generates more shots than Carolina, as evidenced by the fact that they finished first in the NHL in shot share during the regular season (59.8%).
Growing Before Our Very Eyes
Once the third period began, the Canadiens didn’t just do a good job offering resistance to the surging Hurricanes.
They essentially shut them down with the greatest of ease.
Consider this: Montreal only allowed Carolina to take nine shot attempts at 5v5, with only two of them reaching netminder Jakub Dobes.
They also refused to allow a single high-danger scoring chance, making life much easier on their rookie goaltender.
On top of shifting the momentum back to Montreal’s side, this led to a heightened level of offensive-zone time, not to mention Juraj Slafkovsky‘s first 5v5 goal of the series.
It was an incredibly encouraging sign for head coach Martin St-Louis’ team, as they’ve had a very hard time closing things out in the past.
The Habs may be one of the most exciting teams in the NHL, but they’re far from the most stable, making Thursday night’s third period one of the most important of the last few years.
The Canadiens closed out the Hurricanes with aplomb, far from what you’d expect when discussing the youngest team in the NHL.
