Jeff Petry played the heroes for the Montreal Canadiens, who pulled off a 3-2 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the series on Saturday in Toronto.
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Petry grabbed the puck in the box before firing a shot that surprised goaltender Matt Murray.
Carey Price has saved his team more often than not by making important saves. The goalkeeper of the tricolor pushed back 39 of the 41 pucks directed towards him.
Among other things, he prevented Conor Sheary from giving his team the lead, with just over three minutes remaining in the game, when the forward took advantage of a penalty shot.
The latter missed the mark, however, and as has been the case too often this year, the Canadian was unable to maintain his lead. This time, Claude Julien’s troop had given itself a priority of two goals. In the space of 2:39 in the second period, the Penguins tied the game with successes from Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust on the power play.
In his first career playoff game, forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi hit the target for the first time, in the first frame. Brett Kulak’s shot slipped past goaltender Matt Murray before ricocheting off the Finn and ending his run in the net.
Nick Suzuki imitated his teammate in the second period. In a two-on-one climb with Joel Armia, he opted for the shot, which turned out to be the right decision.
The Penguins goalie, for his part, blocked 32 of 35 shots from the Canadiens. Like Price, the “Pens” goalkeeper faced a penalty shot from Jonathan Drouin in overtime. The Quebecer, however, dropped the puck during his attempt.
On multiple occasions, the Canadian got into hot water by offering seven power-play advantages to the Penguins, who even converted one of their chances in such a situation.
The Habs even gave the Pennsylvania team a two-man power play early in the third period, but the latter couldn’t take advantage.
For their part, Claude Julien’s troupe played with an extra man twice, but they were not able to convert these occasions.
The Penguins will have the opportunity to level the series on Monday. According to TVA Sports, forward Alex Belzile has returned to skating. The Quebecer was injured in the pre-season game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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