Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price deflects a shot by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez during the second period in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup semifinal playoff series on June 16, 2021, in Las Vegas. The Canadiens won 3-2.David Becker/The Associated Press
The surprising Canadiens continued their charge through the playoffs on Wednesday night by drawing even in their Stanley Cup semi-final series with the favoured Vegas Golden Knights.
Montreal jumped on top and then Carey Price did the rest in a 3-2 victory before a full house at T-Mobile Arena. The win gave the Canadiens a much-needed split of the first two contests in Las Vegas and a boost in confidence heading into Games 3 and 4 at the Bell Centre on Friday and Sunday nights.
Joel Armia, Tyler Toffoli and Paul Byron staked Montreal out to a 3-0 lead and Price stopped 29 of 31 shots to win the goalie battle with Marc-André Fleury, his future Hall of Fame counterpart. Fleury made 20 saves on 23 shots.
The loss was the first in six games for the Golden Knights, who advanced to the third round by beating the Minnesota Wild in seven games and the Colorado Avalanche in six. The Canadiens had won seven straight while recording series victories over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets before a 4-1 loss to Vegas on Monday.
In that game, Montreal got off to a flying start but failed to convert on several dangerous chances early. That allowed the Golden Knights to find their footing and they won pulling away. That didn’t happen this time.
“You get that go-ahead goal and you are not chasing the game,” Corey Perry, the Canadiens’ 36-year-old winger, said. He had an assist on Armia’s goal. “We got the momentum and rode it.”
Jeff Petry returned to the Canadiens lineup and immediately made his presence felt. The 33-year-old defenceman, who sat out twice after he dislocated fingers in Game 3 of the four-game sweep against Winnipeg, helped Montreal keep the puck at the Vegas end of the ice and collected an assist on the Canadiens’ second goal.
Petry played wearing a glove that was customized to provide a little extra comfort and room for his dislocated digits. One of his eyes was nearly swollen shut from an injury that occurred last week as well.
“If he could have, he would have come back earlier,” Dominique Ducharme, Montreal’s interim head coach, said afterward. “He is a gamer. When you are faced with a big moment or a big game, you see him at his best. It was good to see him back and to see the way he played.”
Fellow defenceman Jon Merrill, acquired at the trade deadline from the Detroit Red Wings, also returned to the Montreal blueline. He was injured in Game 5 of the first-round series against Toronto and had not dressed since.
The Canadiens were fierce on the forecheck throughout the first period and allowed the Golden Knights very few chances. Montreal blocked eight shots and allowed only four to get through to Price in the first 20 minutes.
Montreal went ahead 1-0 when Armia fired a wrist shot past Fleury with 13:48 left in the first period. The goal was the fifth of the playoffs for the Finnish winger and occurred when a shot by Joel Edmundson was deflected and found Armia on the right side of the net.
Toffoli’s fifth goal of the playoffs increased Montreal’s lead to 2-0 with 3:30 remaining before the first intermission. He seemed to mis-hit the slap shot but it fooled Fleury. Petry started the sequence with a pass from the point to rookie Cole Caufield, who then found Toffoli with a sweet cross-ice feed..
Vegas cranked up the pressure at the start of the second but still couldn’t solve Price. Max Pacioretty had a clear shot on a breakaway but banged a puck off the goalpost. Shortly after that, Price used his blocker to deny Mark Stone, who was so frustrated he cast his eyes skyward. Then Price slid across the crease to stop Alec Martinez, who was nearly on top of him. It was hard to tell how Price did it, and he refused to exactly say.
“I was using all of my extremities,” Price said. “It’s just about competing.”
Byron, who had scored only once in the previous 12 playoff games, then beat Fleury with a backhand on a breakaway with 2:15 left in the second period. The goal was preceded by a turnover and a nice pass by Montreal’s 20-year-old centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The game looked well in hand at that point, but Vegas is not one to give up.
Alex Pietrangelo, the former St. Louis captain who was acquired in the off-season, pulled the Golden Knights to within 3-1 when he netted a shot from near the blueline 61 seconds after Byron’s goal. Price never seemed to see the puck as it squeezed through traffic.
The second period ended 3-1, and then Vegas did its best to stage a furious rally.
Pietrangelo did it a second time, scoring with 5:14 left to trim the deficit to 3-2. Both of his goals came directly off face-offs. Vegas scored twice the same way in Game 1.
“We knew how to react and we didn’t react well,” Ducharme said. “We’ll adjust a few things and be better the next game. We have to do a better job.”
The Golden Knights pulled Fleury for the final 90 seconds and put an additional attacker on the ice. They fell just short despite a flurry of chances.
“I’ve played here a long time,” Byron said. “You know Carey is going to shut the door.”
Price did what he does – but his teammates helped him out. They clogged up the shooting lanes and blocked 24 shots that were headed in his direction.
“These guys are out there paying the price,” Price said. “You have to earn every victory, but every bruise is worth it.”
The game ended with the teams pushing and shoving.
“The people that said we were gonna sweep [the Canadiens] are the same people that said Colorado was gonna sweep us,” Pete DeBoer, the Vegas coach, said. “When you get to the final four and you spot a team two goals, you’re playing with fire.”
With files from Dylan Earis
Marty Klinkenberg