HABS’ FRUSTRATIONS MOUNT
Blow another 2-0 lead in loss to N.Y.
rangers 5, canadiens 2
The Canadiens battle to stay alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race took another hit Thursday as they blew yet another two-goal lead and lost to the New York Rangers 5-2 at the Bell Centre.
The Rangers scored twice in a 75-second span in the third period to erase a 2-1 Montreal lead. Mika Zibanejad tied the score at 11:06 and defenceman Adam Fox scored the winner at 12:21. Ryan Strome provided the final margin with a power-play goal and an empty-net goal later in the period.
It was yet another blemish on the Canadiens’ horrendous home record. They fell to 13-16-6 at the Bell Centre and are all but out of the playoff race. They dropped nine points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fight for third place in the Atlantic Division and the Leafs hold a game in hand.
Things started well for Montreal. Tomas Tatar gave the Canadiens some breathing room when he scored his team-leading 22nd goal late in the second period to put Montreal ahead 2-0. Brendan Gallagher was moving through the neutral zone when he sent Tatar in alone. The Slovak went to his backhand to beat Alexandar Georgiev. The goal and an earlier assist gave Tatar 58 points, matching his career-high total from last season.
But 2-0 can be the worst lead in hockey and the Canadiens had a letdown and surrendered a goal before the period was over. Phillip Di Giuseppe, who spent most of the season in the AHL, scored his first goal of the season on a feed from Fox.
The bounce went Max Domi’s way as he opened the scoring early in the first period. Domi, whose production has picked up over the past two weeks, was trying to pass to Tatar at the side of net, but his shot struck defenceman Fox’s skate and caromed past Georgiev, who was moving across the crease to cover Tatar. It was the 16th goal of the season for Domi, who has three goals and four assists in the past six games.
Carey Price, who was making his 11th consecutive start and his 18th start in 19 games, made 30 saves. It’s apparent that Claude Julien is intent on riding his No. 1 goaltender for as long as the Canadiens have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Price was making his 55th appearance and it’s a given that he will surpass the target of 60 games the Canadiens set for him prior to the season.
The Canadiens had two power plays in the first period but looked totally out of sync and managed only one shot on goal. They finished the night 0-for-3.
The Rangers extended two streaks. The win was a team-record ninth consecutive road victory. And Artemi Panarin collected two assists to extend his consecutive game points streak 11 games.
The Canadiens wrap up a threegame homestand Saturday when they play the Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m., City, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).