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KK Quiets the Bell Centre | RECAP: CAR @ MTL

GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens vs Carolina Hurricanes: Habs, Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game, Interviews, NHL, Three-Stars

FINAL/SO | Game 64, Home Game 31 | Tuesday March 7, 2023
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

3-4

HURRICANES

Carolina

Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Vitor Munhoz/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Harvey-Pinard – Nick Suzuki – Jesse Ylonen

Mike Hoffman – Jonathan Drouin – Josh Anderson

Rem Pitlick – Christian Dvorak – Denis Gurianov

Michael Pezzetta – Chris Tierney – Alex Belzile

Defence pairings

Mike Matheson – David Savard

Joel Edmundson – Chris Wideman

Jordan Harris – Johnathan Kovacevic

Goaltenders

Jake Allen – Sam Montembeault

Scratches

none

Injuries

Carey Price (knee), Paul Byron (hip), Sean Monahan (lower-body), Brendan Gallagher (lower-body), Jake Evans (lower-body), Juraj Slafkovsky (lower-body), Cole Caufield (shoulder), Arber Xhekaj (upper-body), Kirby Dach (lower-body), Joel Armia (illness), Justin Barron (upper-body), Kaiden Guhle (upper-body)

Game Report

It’s hard to follow the logic in how Jesperi Kotkaniemi became public enemy number one in Montreal. It wasn’t his choice to be selected third overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Canadiens. That was the direction of ‘co-GMs’ Marc Bergevin and Geoff Molson who demanded a centre from the scouting staff.

Mismanaging his development with the Canadiens can’t be blamed on Kotkaniemi either but two coaches who didn’t particularly care for managing young talent in Claude Julien and Dominique Ducharme.

And then there was the offer sheet. The sole responsibility for that debacle was Bergevin’s inattention to signing his future top-six forward.

So after the Canadiens organization completely botched the Kotkaniemi file, the Bell Centre faithful really had no business boo’ing the young man who has become the second line centre on the second best club in the entire league.

But they did, every time he touched the puck on Tuesday night.

So, with the angry sound of fans, driven by their misplaced animus, filling the building as the 12th shooter of the shootout came to centre ice, the dramatic stage was set. And the 22-year-old former Canadien rose to the occasion. 

One wonders if the regulars at the Montreal Forum would have been so inhospitable.

Up Next

The Canadiens will host the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Plus

▲  Mike Hoffman, Michael Pezzetta, Jake Allen, Jesse Ylonen, Chris Tierney 

Minus

▼  Mike Matheson, David Savard, Rem Pitlick, Denis Gurianov, Christian Dvorak

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Wideman Returns | PREVIEW: CAR @ MTL

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   HURRICANES
24 Shots 39
43 Face-off % 57
0-for-4 Power Play 0-for-2
6 Penalty Minutes 10
17 Hits 11
39 Corsi For 66
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (26-33-5) 2 1 0 0 0 3
Hurricanes (42-12-8) 1 1 1 0 1 4
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Belzile (3), Hoffman (10), Pezzetta (5)
  • CAR: Slavin (5), Skjei (12), Fast (8); game-deciding goal: Kotkaniemi
  • MTL: Allen (OTL) (14-20-3)
  • CAR: Raanta, Anderson (W) (16-6-0)

Stars of the Game

NHL Three Stars
  1. Jesperi Kotkaniemi  CAR
  2. Michael Pezzetta  MTL
  3. Brett Pesce  CAR

Watch

Video Highlights
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What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Marty St. Louis

  • “It was an exciting game. I’m tired and I haven’t even played!”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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