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Matinee Magic | RECAP: NYI @ MTL

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Matinee Magic | RECAP: NYI @ MTL
Mike Matheson, Mike Hoffman, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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

FINAL/OT | Game 52, Home Game 27 | Friday February 11, 2023
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

4-3

New York Islanders logo

ISLANDERS

New York

Mike Matheson, Mike Hoffman, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Harvey-Pinard – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson

Mike Hoffman – Kirby Dach – Evgenii Dadonov

Rem Pitlick – Christian Dvorak – Jesse Ylonen

Michael Pezzetta – Jonathan Drouin – Alex Belzile

Defence pairings

Arber Xhekaj – David Savard

Mike Matheson – Justin Barron

Jordan Harris – Johnathan Kovacevic

Goaltenders

Sam Montembeault – Jake Allen

Scratches

Chris Wideman

Injuries

Carey Price (knee), Paul Byron (hip), Sean Monahan (lower-body), Kaiden Guhle (lower-body), Brendan Gallagher (lower-body), Jake Evans (lower-body), Joel Armia (upper-body), Juraj Slafkovsky (lower-body), Cole Caufield (shoulder), Joel Edmundson (upper-body)

Game Report

After enjoying a 10-day break, the Canadiens were back in action taking on the Islanders in an afternoon affair. Jonathan Drouin was dressed after missing seven games with an upper-body injury. And it was the final time (ever?) that the Habs were encumbered by their unpopular powder blue jerseys. 

Both teams looked sluggish at times, the effects of an early start, but there were plenty of entertaining moments too. Nick Suzuki set aside his slump, scoring his 17th goal of the season. The Islanders responded just two minutes later as Brock Nelson redirected a point shot.

The second period played out as a chess match with neither team developing  much in the way of offence. With five seconds left in the second period, Bo Horvat threw a puck towards the net from behind the goal line that Sam Montembeault misplayed.

The Canadiens did a very good job limiting threats from the Islanders allowing just three high-danger scoring chances in the final two periods plus overtime. It was a shaky outing from Montembeault who struggled with positioning and lost rebounds throughout the game but was fortunate to get the win.

The hockey gods provided a helping hand when the review went the way of the Canadiens in overtime. Marty St. Louis felt that those same ghosts were questioning the decision to use the reverse retro jerseys this season. “I don’t know what next year brings, but I hope it’s not those jerseys,” St. Louis.

Up Next

The Canadiens will face the Edmonton Oilers in another matinee game on Sunday at the Bell Centre.

Plus

▲  Mike Hoffman, Jordan Harris, Jonathan Kovacevic, Justin Barron, Kirby Dach, Christian Dvorak

Minus

▼  David Savard, Sam Montembeault, Arber Xhekaj, Michael Pezzetta, Alex Belzile

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Drouin Returns | PREVIEW: NYI @ MTL

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   ISLANDERS
31 Shots 30
45 Face-off % 55
0-for-2 Power Play 1-for-2
4 Penalty Minutes 4
21 Hits 15
46 Corsi For 48
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (21-27-4) 1 0 2 1 4
Islanders (27-23-6) 1 1 1 0 3
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Suzuki (17), Barron (1), Dach (12) Matheson (2)
  • NYI: Nelson (21), Horvat (34)-PPG, Martin (6),
  • MTL: Montembeault (W) (11-10-2)
  • NYI: Varlamov (OTL) (10-6-2)

Stars of the Game

NHL Three Stars
NHL3stars
  1. Mike Matheson  MTL
  2. Mike Hoffman  MTL
  3. Brock Nelson  NYI

Watch

Video Highlights
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What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Marty St. Louis

  • “This is a historical franchise, probably have some guys that wore those jerseys 50 years ago that were red or white looking down on it like ‘what are you guys doing?.”
  • “We probably get what we deserve with the blue jerseys based on how historical this franchise is.”

Kirby Dach

  • “It’s a team in the hunt for the playoffs that needs every point. We would like to get back in the race or at least build towards something. It feels good to be rewarded with two points after a good effort.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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