In what was an goaltending battle, the Carolina Hurricanes fell 2-1 in the shootout to the Montreal Canadiens Sunday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
After no players scored in the first four rounds of the skills competition, Montreal forward Sven Andrighetto fired one top shelf over Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward, and forward and team captain Eric Staal was stopped by Canadiens starter Ben Scrivens to seal the win for Montreal.
The goalies stole the show in this one, as Ward stopped 33-of-34 shots for the Hurricanes (24-21-9), and Scrivens stopped 34 of 35 for Montreal (26-24-4).
The Canes got off to a quick start today, as forward Jordan Staal came up with a loose puck in the offensive zone and sent a low wrister on net that forward Jeff Skinner tipped past Canadiens Scrivens for his 19th goal of the season about two and a half minutes in.
Carolina got a chance to make it 2-0 when Skinner drew a holding penalty with seven minutes and change left in the period, but despite some grade-A scoring chances, including missing an empty net multiple times, the power play could not connect. The Canes again had another excellent chance to extend their lead with less than a minute left in the period, but Scrivens made a great point blank save on a tip chance by Eric Staal, who played in his 900th career game today, and the Hurricanes headed to the locker room up by a goal.
Skinner drew another penalty about five minutes into the second when he was clipped by a high stick, but the man advantage again failed to find the back of the net. Montreal tied it up a few minutes as forward Max Pacioretty sniped a shot past Ward from the left faceoff circle to knot it at one.
Montreal got a powerplay with a chance to take their first lead with a little under seven minutes left in the period as Canes defenseman Justin Faulk got the gate for tripping. The Habs got some good chances, but Ward and the Canes penalty killers were equal to the task and killed it off. The teams traded a few more chances the rest of the way, but no more scoring and the second intermission saw a 1-1 tie.
The third period saw both teams pressing to grab the lead early, but both Ward and Scrivens continued to hold down the fort. Montreal got a golden opportunity to do so halfway through the period, but Ward stopped Pacioretty on a breakaway.
Montreal got another man advantage with 5:51 left courtesy of an Eric Staal tripping penalty, but some key blocks by the penalty killers allowed the Hurricanes to kill it off. The goaltending clinic continued throughout the rest of regulation as both teams got some more prime scoring chances, but the game was destined for overtime.
The 3-on-3 overtime was the usual madness of back and forth odd man rushes and grade-A chances. Ward and Scrivens continued to stand on their heads, as Ward in particular made a couple spectacular saves and the game headed to the shootout where Andrighetto won it.
The Canes will get a few days off now, as they will next take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PNC Arena Friday as part of the team’s 10th anniversary celebration for the 2006 Stanley Cup Championship.
