Montreal Canadiens deny Minnesota Wild comeback, win 5-4 in shootout -NHL Update
Minnesota was hoping for an easy win going up against Montreal, one of the lowest ranked teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) at the moment, but Canadiens denied Wild their third period rebound to win, 5-4, in a shootout on Thursday night, March 1, 2012, at the sold-out Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The Wild are not having it any easier as well as the team which ranked atop the Western Conference at one point is now at number 12 with 66 points. With a little over a month remaining, their upcoming games will ultimately decide whether the postseason would be an option for them or not.
Montreal came out strong in the opening period as young defenseman, P.K. Subban picked up his fifth of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season while Lars Eller added another nearly two minutes later, both on the power play.
Matt Kassian kept Minnesota alive with his first season goal with less than five minutes remaining as the period had turned brutal with players fighting and sticks flying all over the place.
The ice that looked like a wrestling ring in the first period, cooled down in those that followed.
Max Pacioretty added his 26th of the season taking advantage of another power play opportunity as Cal Clutterbuck was booked for tripping midway through.
David Desharnais intended on keeping the Wild team at bay but it seemed in the final moments that Minnesota had finally had enough.
Matt Kassian, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi fired off three straight to level the contest within a 3:43 time frame in the third and final period of regulation, forcing another life in overtime.
Failing on the overtime extension to decide the game, David Desharnais scored the only shootout goal on Wild goalie, Josh Harding, to take the match as Montreal goalkeeper, Carey Price, blocked all three attempts.
Minnesota Wild has the next against Detroit Red Wings on Friday, a match which will definitely not be easy for them as the competition is one of the highest ranked teams in the league.
Montreal is hoping to down Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, putting them on a 0-10 streak in their last 10 matchups.
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