Edmonton Oilers posted their third straight win by beating the Montreal Canadiens on the road last night. The guests managed to come back from a two-goal deficit and to knockout the pale hosts, who are in a very unpleasant situation.
The final result was 4-2, but the Canadiens were up 2-0 early on in the second frame, indicating that they might stop the negative streak, which lasted for the previous seven contests. However, it didn’t turn out to be like that.
Montreal took the lead, at 12:35 into the match, with Philip Danault giving the hosts the advantage. The Oilers’ goalie Mike Smit stopped his first shot, but the hosts’ center scored on a rebound.
Canadiens double the edge through Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who beat Smith with a wrist shot from near the slot. It was 2:24 inside the middle frame.
“They were a desperate team, they were a quicker team. They were on loose pucks and executing, and we weren’t,” Edmonton’s coach Dave Tippett described how Montreal played.
A spark of hope for the guests appeared after Riley Sheahan’s score at 7:16 of the same period. However, nothing happened until the end of the sequence, but it was obvious that the balance of power is slowly changing.
Connor McDavid tied the result with a power-play goal at 2:16 of the final period. The score marked his 70th point of the season. This is his second straight campaign in which he reaches 70 points in 46 or fewer number of appearances.
From that moment on, the home team just stopped, allowing the Oilers to gain a massive swing and take over the command of the ice.
Alex Chiasson, the local boy from the Montreal area, delivered a fatal blow to the team he adored as a kid. Though he plays for one of the Canadiens’ biggest rivals, he didn’t want to hide his affection for the Habs.
“I’ve always dreamed of getting one here,” said Chiasson. “I grew up a Habs fan. My mom and dad used to bring my sister and me to games here. It’s always special coming into this building.”
The game became intense, with the hosts trying to get even, but they simply didn’t have the power to respond. With 35 seconds to go, Oilers scored another goal, which sealed the fate of the struggling Canadiens.
“We can’t give up,” said their coach Claude Julien. “We can’t hang our heads. We’re paid to do a job, and we have to keep doing it. We’re running out of answers.”
Montreal was one of the possible title contenders at the start of the campaign, but somewhere along the road, they just fell apart. Injuries, bad chemistry, and many more negative factors are killing this respectable squad. At the moment, the Canadiens have only one win and nine losses over the previous 10 matches. Their next challenge is against the Senators in Ottawa.
Oilers are traveling to Calgary to meet the Flames this Saturday, and after that, have four straight games at home. The Predators will open the stretch on Tuesday.
