For the second straight game, the Habs played solid for 40 minutes but
allowed 4 goals in the other stanza en route to a 6-3 loss in which the score by
no means reflected the quality of the game. The Habs came out strong but
were stymied by Semyon Varlamov at almost every turn. He held the Caps in
it long enough and a late SHG by Mike Knuble in the second period is where it
all fell apart for the Habs.
Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, and Dominic Moore scored for Montreal while
Alexander Ovechkin (2), Knuble (2), Jason Chimera, and Nicklas Backstrom
countered for Washington. Carey Price had a decent effort though the
numbers may suggest otherwise as he allowed 4 goals on 36 shots faced (plus 2
empty netters), while Varlamov kicked aside 36 of 39 Hab shots.
HW 3 Stars of the Game:
1) Mike Cammalleri: He had Montreal’s first goal and quite frankly
could have easily had another 3 had Varlamov not been so sharp. Tried to
do a little too much towards the end of the game but the effort was certainly
there.
Statline: 1 goal, -2 rating, 5 shots, 2 hits, 60% faceoffs (3/5),
18:55 TOI
2) Dominic Moore: His goal late in the 3rd bumped him up to second
star but he had a strong game overall, as did his line. Also of note, he
was the only regular centreman to actually win more than 50% of his faceoffs.
Statline: 1 goal, even rating, 2 shots, 3 takeaways (tied team high),
4/7 faceoffs (57%), 13:17 TOI
3) Brian Gionta: I would say he had a quiet game by his standards but
by the end of the night, he hit the scoresheet once again; it’s hard to ask
more. That being said, he (and his line) will have to step it up for the
Habs to have any shot of taking the series back to Montreal.
Statline: 1 goal, -3 rating (tied team low), 5 shots, 2 takeaways,
22:16 TOI
HM) Ryan O’Byrne: For someone who hadn’t played in a couple weeks,
there was very little, if any rust to speak of. He kept it simple and got
engaged physically, particularly in front of the net where Price didn’t have a
whole lot to deal with for most of the night.
Statline: 0 points, +1 rating, 2 shots, 7 hits (team high), 4 blocks
(team high), 13:05 TOI
Stat of the Night: I’m not the biggest Sergei Kostitsyn fan in the
world but you have to think he got the short end of the stick tonight. He
was the only Hab to have a +2 rating but played just 8:17, only 10 seconds more
than Tom Pyatt who had the team low.