A winning goal from Quebecer Alexis Lafrenière propelled the New York Rangers to a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, who suffered a third straight setback to start their season on Saturday night at the Bell Center.
Jonathan Drouin had just scored, 26 seconds earlier, to finally put the Habs in the scoring, but Lafrenière came quickly to accept a perfect pass from Mika Zibanejad and throw a shower of cold water on the spectators. Kevin Rooney completed the score in an empty net.
Dominique Ducharme’s men have struggled to score goals since the start of the season and this duel was no exception.
The Montreal players did not know how to use the warm welcome of the fans who filled the Bell Center for the first time in nearly two years to motivate themselves and get their attack going. An electrifying presentation of the players and loud applause audible in favor of the local favorites did not change the situation.
It took a superb maneuver from Drouin’s backhand in the heart of the enclave to deprive Igor Shesterkin of a shutout. The latter still resisted the few more threatening chances that his rivals directed at him as they had a little boost of energy in the third period. In the end, he repelled 31 shots in the victory.
Jake Allen played a bit of bad luck on the Rangers’ first net, seeing the puck deflect on Chris Kreider, then onto Alexander Romanov’s skate before ending up behind him. All in all, he made 21 saves in the backhand.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
13:00 – Jake Evans goes for it with an individual effort and directs a quick wrist throw immobilized by Igor Shesterkin.
09:50 – BUT RANGERS Alexis Lafrenière scored his first goal in his first game at the Bell Center courtesy of Mika Zibanejad.
09:24 – BUT CANADIENS Jonathan Drouin beautifully completes the superb play piece initiated by Christian Dvorak and brings everyone back to square one.
07:45 – Mika Zibanejad takes the Montreal quintet quickly and escapes despite the numerical inferiority.
07:37 – Jeff Petry directs not one, but two good slapshots, Igor Shesterkin remains frozen.
06:20 – Alexis Lafrenière is chased away for tripping David Savard during his forward check. This is a golden opportunity for the CH.
04:47 – Silent so far, Christian Dvorak sees the puck end up in the enclave, but is unable to outsmart the Rangers guard.
04:23 – Alexander Romanov cleans up in front of Jake Allen’s cage and is doing well with officials.
02:00 – The sense of urgency is long overdue in the CH camp.
00:00 – Beginning of the period.
SECOND PERIOD
Montreal Canadiens: 0/0
Rangers of New York: 1/4
Montreal Canadiens: 13
Rangers of New York: 9
20:00 – End of period.
19:58 – Cedric Paquette lived up to his reputation and blocked Samuel Blais’ powerful shot at the end of the period.
18:34 – David Savard and Jake Allen combine their efforts and deprive Mika Zibanejad on the power play.
18:02 – Chris Wideman gets a second penalty, this time for serving forward Kevin Rooney a double check.
17:45 – Artturi Lehkonen loses his balance and drops the puck just feet from the visitors’ net, ironically the streak turns into a scoring chance for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.
16:16 – Jonathan Drouin slows down the game, cuts to the center and tries a wrist shot, however the puck ends up in the picture window.
15:36 – David Savard sees the path open in front of him and finds himself alone in front of the Rangers doorman. He chooses the pass option rather than attempting a shot, the game aborts.
14:54 – Cole Caufield moved quickly into the offensive zone and appeared to be in a good position to land his signature shot, but dropped the puck.
14:22 – Cedric Paquette skillfully redirects Mathieu Perreault’s pass between his legs, Igor Shesterkin closes the door with a little mustard as a bonus.
13:16 – Chris Wideman directs a weak shot towards Igor Shesterkin’s cage which gives a juicy return to the enclave, but no one is there to complete the streak.
10:16 – The Canadians lost momentum following the Rangers’ net. The wind changes sides at the Bell Center and the fans are quieter.
09:59 – BUT RANGERS Chris Kreider made the Canadians pay for the indiscipline and scored his third in the campaign assisted by Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad.
09:04 – Canadians are showing indiscipline. Mathieu Perreault is punished for having hung Jacob Trouba.
08:08 – Alexander Romanov shows courage and throws himself in front of Filip Chytil’s shot, like a certain Josh Gorges.
07:11 – Mika Zibanejad accepts the brilliant pass from Alexis Lafrenière, beats Jake Allen, but touches the metal rod.
06:49 – Alexis Lafrenière puts on a show. Very involved, he once again directs a shot towards Jake Allen’s cage.
06:09 – Christian Dvorak is punished for carrying his stick too high on striker Ryan Reaves in the offensive zone.
03:55 – Alexis Lafrenière gets the best chance of this power play directing a sharp shot on reception.
03:02 – Chris Wideman heads to the dungeon for pulling the hook on Ryan Reaves.
01:53 – Jake Evans accelerates and goes there with a good wrist shot, Igor Shesterkin concedes nothing.
00:28 – The Canadians started weakly in the second period. Jake Allen must surpass himself in order to rob Chris Kreider left alone in the enclave.
00:00 – Beginning of the period.
FIRST PERIOD
Montreal Canadiens: 0/2
Rangers of New York: 0/0
Montreal Canadiens: 5
Rangers of New York: 8
20:00 – End of period.
19:49 – Samuel Blais hits hard on Jake Evans who does not appear to be shaken despite his history of concussion.
18:17 – Alexis Lafrenière once again carries the disc and directs a shot easily captured by Jake Allen.
18:06 – Tyler Toffoli tries the turnstile, Igor Shesterkin is watching. Cedric Paquette and Brendan Gallagher then make their presence felt where it hurts.
16:04 – Mathieu Perreault gave a second and then a third effort at the back of the territory against the colossus Patrik Nemeth.
15:31 – Dominique Ducharme’s troop moved in, but failed to register a first net in the power play.
13:59 – K’Andre Miller is kicked out for tripping Cole Caufield attempting the “spin-o-rama».
13:49 – Alexander Romanov applied a good check to Kaapo Kakko and skillfully restarted the game on Cole Caufield.
13:16 – Barclay Goodrow gives defenseman Chris Wideman a good kick at the back of the territory.
11:39 – Jonathan Drouin demonstrates his skill as a playmaker and hands over to Josh Anderson who takes a good wrist shot at full speed, Shesterkin says no.
09:38 – David Savard’s harmless shot turns into a scoring chance for Tyler Toffoli.
09:01 – Samuel Blais goes for an individual breakthrough and cuts to Jake Allen’s cage.
08:29 – It is the visitors’ turn to be successful. Gerard Gallant’s troop settled for a long time in Canadian territory, without really threatening.
07:25 – Alexis Lafrenière initiates an attack from the neutral zone, however his shot misses the target.
06:23 – Jake Allen gets his first real challenge when Dryden Hunt goes for it with a powerful shot from the point.
05:19 – Alexis Lafrenière tries a first shot in the game, Jake Allen closes the door.
03:57 – CH takes advantage of momentum during the five-man attack, the best chance goes to Nick Suzuki who misses the target with a wrist shot.
02:32 – Ryan Reaves is being punished for retaining defenseman Brett Kulak.
02:19 – The game is intense, every inch is fiercely contested. Cedric Paquette applies a good body hitting to Ryan Reaves.
01:32 – The Canadians are very aggressive in attacking territory, Joel Armia recovers a free puck in the enclave, but to no avail.
01:12 – Alexander Romanov dirige un premier tir vers Igor Shesterkin.
00:55 – Jake Evans uses his speed and overwhelms the opposing defense, but sees his pass intended for Brendan Gallagher being deflected.
00:44 – Brendan Gallagher sets the tone for the game by applying a good bodycheck to Jacob Trouba.
00:00 – Beginning of the meeting.
The opportunity to sign a first win is great for Dominique Ducharme’s troop, as the Habs run in front of a packed house for the first time in more than 19 months.
Having suffered two losses in as many outings against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabers, the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge lost their first two games of a season for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign.
Lafrenière’s first steps in Montreal
Drafted first in total during the 2020 auction which was initially to be held in Montreal, the native of Saint-Eustache plays a first career duel against the CH, in front of family and friends.
Defensive lines and pairs in training
Joel Armia – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield
Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher
Mathieu Perreault – Cedric Paquette – Artturi Lehkonen
Reservists: Mike Hoffman – Adam Brooks – Alex Belzile
Alexander Romanov – Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot – David Savard
Brett Kulak – Chris Wideman
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