The Carolina Hurricanes fell, 4-2, to the Montreal Canadiens in their home finale Thursday night, after jumping out to two leads and allowing four different Habs’ players to score.
The Hurricanes (35-30-16) had their chances, and converted two in the first 25 minutes, but 15 giveaways, many of which at the wrong place and time, and multiple defensive breakdowns allowed the Canadiens (37-38-6) to fight back from two separate deficits.
“I thought we made it hard on ourselves,” Carolina head coach Bill Peters said. “We turned a lot of pucks over.”
Carolina forward Riley Nash put the Canes on the board, just 1:34 into the game, as forward Jeff Skinner fired a pass to him in the slot, where he ripped it past Montreal netminder Charlie Lindgren. The goal was the first shot the 22-year old Lindgren faced in his NHL debut, less than two weeks after he completed his NCAA career at St. Cloud State University.
Perhaps the early goal, and the fact they were playing against the NHL’s worst team since Dec. 5, made the Hurricanes a bit complacent, as they looked sluggish for a good portion of the first period, turning the puck over multiple times, and spending more time than usual in their own end.
Montreal came close to tying the game up when forward Alex Galchenyuk was set free on a breakaway, where his backhanded shot beat Carolina goaltender Cam Ward, but hit the post instead of the twine.
Despite their sloppy play, it appeared the Canes would head to intermission with a 1-0 lead until Montreal defenseman Darren Dietz scored his first-career NHL goal on a slap shot from the point with 9.9 seconds remaining. The Carolina defensemen allowed Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher to park himself directly in front of Ward, obstructing his view of the shot.
Rookie defenseman Noah Hanifin scored his fourth goal of the season — tying him for fourth among NHL rookie defensemen — 5:11 into the middle frame, to give the Canes the lead once again.
The Canadiens fought back again, tying it up when forward Max Pacioretty’s high shot was originally stopped by Ward, but the puck’s momentum carried it over his shoulder and into the back of the net.
Just a few minutes later, a Carolina turnover in the offensive zone finally proved costly, as Montreal took it the other way, and scored to take its first lead of the game. Forward Daniel Carr, the latest Canadien left alone on the doorstep, made the Canes pay by deflecting a bid from teammate Tomas Plekanec, to light the lamp.
“I thought we kind of lost our legs a little bit in the second,” Carolina forward Jordan Staal said. “Third period: we started skating a little bit more, getting a couple of chances, but it’s not easy to come back in the league.”
Montreal added an insurance tally in the final few minutes of the third when Carolina, again, failed to cover a player in front of the net. Forward Lars Eller took advantage, scoring on a rebound, after Ward made a save on the first shot.
“We’ve played well all year,” Peters said. “We’ve played the right way. We’ve played hard. We’ve played quick. Tonight, for whatever reason — give them credit — we weren’t able to do that. We looked hesitant. We looked a little bit slow and indecisive with the puck.”
