The Montreal Canadiens were less than a second away from losing to the Ottawa Senators.
But, in thrilling fashion, they managed to overcome a three-goal third-period deficit, punctuated with a David Desharnais power play goal with less than half a second left on the clock to send the game into overtime. The Canadiens won it there, taking a 5-4 victory over the visiting Senators on Saturday.
Let’s discuss:
- This lends evidence to the adage that no lead is safe. The Canadiens were down 4-1 late in the third period, then came back with three goals in three minutes and 21 seconds to send the game into overtime.
- Game of inches? Game of seconds. David Desharnais tied it with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Nice goal, but even better play from P.K. Subban, who made a heads-up decision to find an open man instead of shoot when perhaps the shot may not have been there.
- Francis Bouillon picked a heck of a time for his first goal of the season. He scored for the Habs in overtime on a loose puck that came to him in the slot following a scramble around the Senators net. His last goal: March 10, 2013. It’s been a while.
- Do the Senators have a case? Ottawa’s goalie Robin Lehner, spectacular for about 56 minutes in this game, was furious after the winning goal went in. It would appear he thought he had the initial shot covered up, as the puck rested against the toe of his right pad. The Habs dug the puck loose, and Bouillon finished it off. According to the box score, Bobby Ryan received a game misconduct at the end of the overtime.
- Ales Hemsky scored his first goal as a member of the Senators.
- Lehner may be frustrated with the result, but he kept the Senators in this one, especially in the first period. In the end, he made 43 saves on 48 shots. Here’s a video clip of his right-pad save to rob Daniel Briere of what looked to be a sure goal.
- Carey Price was making his first start in goal since the Olympics. He made 30 saves on 34 shots for the win.
