Carey Price stays perfect in shootout to lift Montreal Canadiens over Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 –NHL
Another close match that took place on Wednesday night, November 23, 2011, was between Montreal and Carolina, in which Carey Price remained focused and perfect for the Canadiens in the shootout decider for ninth victory of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season, over the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States.
"I got a little bit lucky," said Montreal Canadiens goalie, Carey Price, after the win. "It hit the k**b of my stick. I was pretty pumped for that fortunate little bounce, but I will take it."
Carolina came out strong and scored two straight nearly six minutes apart as Jiri Tlusty potted the first go ahead goal only 34 seconds in while Anthony Stewart added another to give the home team a strong lead to build on.
Lars Eller managed to put Montreal on the scoreboard with his second of the season at a time when his team was down a player with P.K. Subban sitting on the benches for tripping with a minor.
Mike Cammalleri levelled the match only 27 seconds into the third and final period of regulation while Brandon Sutter added his fifth to break the tie but was answered nearly a minute later by Travis Moen to force overtime.
"In the first period we weren't good," Montreal coach Jacques Martin said. "They won more battles and were on the puck. They were more determined. After that we came back strong in the second, created several good chances, capitalized and persisted as we should have."
As both teams missed on their first two attempts during the forced shootout after a scoreless overtime extension, Brian Gionta capitalised on their third opportunity through Carolina goalie, Cam Ward, while Jussi Jokinen missed their last to give the Canadiens the match.
"You get yourself behind, and you've got to claw out of it," said Gionta.
The Canadiens have the next contest in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Friday while the Hurricanes host the Winnipeg Jets on the same day.
As both teams fight for positioning in the Eastern Conference, it will be interesting to actually see who comes out on top in the future.
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