‘We’ll learn from it,’ Therrien says of 3-on-3 overtime loss
The Canadiens’ first exposure to the new 3-on-3 overtime didn’t last long.
Kyle Turris scored after only 34 seconds to give the Ottawa Senators a 2-1 victory over the Canadiens Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
“There are going to be a lot of scoring chances in those five minutes and if you don’t score right away, it’s going to go the other way,” said Tomas Plekanec. “I think it might be better if the other team has the first chance and they turn it over and you score on a rush like they did.”
That was the scenario in this game. Plekanec won the opening faceoff against Turris, but the Canadiens weren’t able to get a shot on goal before Max Pacioretty lost the puck. That led to an odd-man rush and, three seconds later, Turris took a pass from Mike Hoffman and found the back of the net.
“I didn’t really know what happened,” said Montreal goaltender Mike Condon, who lost for the first time in the NHL. Condon, who is filling in for the injured Carey Price, saw his record drop to 4-0-1 with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage. “I thought I had it and I was trying to keep the guy from running into me. I didn’t even know the puck went in.
“It was a nice pass and there’s so much more space out there,” said Condon. “We had a lot of chances in the third but (Ottawa goaltender Craig) Anderson played a great game.”
Plekanec said the Canadiens have practised the 3-on-3 overtime but it’s not the same as in a game situation.
“Once you miss the scoring chance, it’s going the other way,” said Plekanec.
When asked how he likes the 3-on-3 compared to the 4-on-4 overtime employed in recent years, Plekanec said: “It’s the first time we lost (at home) so I didn’t like it tonight. Maybe 4-on-4 is more hockey, a little bit more structured. The 3-on-3 is like summer hockey.”
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said the overtime lasted “long enough in order to learn.”
“It’s puck possession,” added Therrien. “We end up losing the puck and that’s the No. 1 key. But you know what, that was the first experience in the regular season. Training camp is totally different. But I’m sure we’ll learn from it.”
The overtime was not new for the Senators but this marked the first time they have scored. They went to overtime in four previous games and each one of them went to a shootout. The Senators are 2-2 in those games.
“We played a good game,” said Plekanec. “We had a lot of scoring chances but Anderson played well, both goalies played well. We had chances to put ourselves in a little better shape in the game and we didn’t. We needed that second or third goal.”
Or maybe they needed the first goal, which was disallowed. Plekanec beat Anderson but it was waved off because Brendan Gallagher was in the crease.
The Canadiens challenged the call but Plekanec said he didn’t think there was a chance the decision would be reversed.
“Obviously, Gally was in the crease and I would have been surprised if they called it a goal,” said Plekanec.
“The coach’s challenge happened really quick,” said Therrien.
“It’s a group decision and we thought as a group that it was worth it to challenge it.”
The top line of Plekanec, Gallagher and Pacioretty continued to be frustrated. They combined for 15 of the Canadiens’ 37 shots. Pacioretty has gone five games without a point and has ceded the team scoring lead to defenceman Andrei Markov.