‘I’VE NEVER HEARD A BUILDING LIKE THAT’
Kotkaniemi earns fans’ adulation as rookie nets his first two NHL goals
On most nights, Max Domi would have been one of the three stars on a night when he scored the winning goal with 21.1 seconds to go.
But Thursday night wasn’t that night.
The Canadiens came from behind in the final 3:04 of the game to beat the Stanley Cupchampion Washington Capitals 6-4 and the undisputed hero of the game was Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the 18-year-old rookie from Finland.
He scored his first NHL goal to open the scoring and he scored at 16:56 of the third period to tie the game.
The Canadiens haven’t lost consecutive games this season, but it appeared that streak was coming to an end when Montreal missed two glorious scoring chances late in the third period.
Domi was involved in the first missed opportunity. He had the puck at the side of the net after Charles Hudon did a good job of bringing the puck to the net and finding Domi. The scoring chance evaporated through a combination of a weak shot and a good save by Braden Holtby.
“I fanned on it,” Domi said. “He made a good save, but it wasn’t the shot I wanted. But we could feel the crowd behind us and we were coming hard.”
Jeff Petry had the second chance, when he pinched in and fired a shot off the post.
That’s when Kotkaniemi delivered the tying goal and Domi showed his two-way skills as he made a defensive play at one end of the ice and then beat Holtby with a rising shot that jumped out of the goaltender’s glove.
Kotkaniemi received a loud ovation when he scored his first goal. He said it was the loudest cheers he had ever heard and he wasn’t alone.
“His first goal, I’ve never heard a building like that before. These fans were a big part of the win tonight,” said Domi. “All the hype with him coming into the league as an 18-year-old and the way he’s handled himself, the poise, it’s remarkable. He’s a great kid and he deserves it.”
The goal even prompted goaltender Carey Price to skate to the blue-line to give Kotkaniemi a high-five.
Kotkaniemi said his parents back in Finland watch most of his games and when asked if they were watching this game, he said: “I hope so.” He collected the puck from his first goal and said he would give it to his mother. When asked if he would wake his parents to talk about the game, he said he would wait until the morning.
Tomas Tatar, who assisted on a pair of second-period goals by Brendan Gallagher, said he felt the support from the crowd.
“We weren’t happy with the way the second period ended, but we came out hard in the third and I think the fans knew we were trying,” Tatar said.
He said this wasn’t the looseygoosey kind of game the Canadiens want to play, but it produced the right result. Montreal outshot Washington 44-31 with a 17-5 edge in the third period.
There seems little doubt that Kotkaniemi is staying around for the entire season, although coach Claude Julien wouldn’t go any further than to say he hopes the teenager hangs around.
“I have the same impression you guys and the fans have,” Julien said. “He scored his first goal tonight and you can see his talent potential. He’s never looked out of place. He’s had games that have been better than others. We have to have patience, but I like the way he’s playing. And he’s doing a good job on the power play, where he finds seams not too many players can see.”