About Last Night: Batons Claim First Round on Cup Bid Sheet Against Habs

Article content

Jesperi Kotkaniemi laughed for the first time on her return to Montreal. The former Hab scored the decisive third goal in the Carolina Hurricanes’ 4-1 win over the Canadiens without a win on Thursday at the Bell Center. With the loss, the Habs fell to 0-5, but managed to break their power play drought when Tyler Toffoli scored the team’s first goal for the men’s advantage this season.

Article content

You probably know the story well. Kotkaniemi signed a 6.1M offer sheet with the Cannes towards the end of the offseason, which the Habs chose not to match. Some saw Carolina’s tactic as payback for a matched offer sheet Sebastian Aho signed with the Canadiens in 2019. Tonight, Kotkaniemi and Aho were linemates with fellow Finn Teuvo Teravainen, and did the most damage with six points. combined.

The Bell Center faithful greeted Kotkaniemi’s first turn with boos.

Article content

In the first period, the Habs thought they had their first power play goal of the season when Brendan Gallagher redirected a Chris Wideman shot that passed goalkeeper Frederik Andersen. Upon further review by the umpires, Gallagher was found to be guilty of goalkeeper interference. The game remained scoreless after one period.

The Hurricanes came out rocking in the second period. With a slashing penalty to Christian Dvorak, Aho hit a long pass from Teravainen from a single stopwatch just 23 seconds into the frame to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Article content

Less than two minutes later, the Hurricanes demonstrated a more ingenious pass when Martin Necas hit sniper Andrei Svechnikov with an ice cross feed. Svechnikov, selected a spot ahead of Kotkaniemi in 2018, waited for Jake Allen to crouch low enough before placing the puck under the crossbar. The Canadiens quickly found themselves down 2-0.

Article content

Midway through the period, the Canadiens hit a dubious century mark, going 100 minutes without scoring a goal. More than 108 minutes had elapsed when Tyler Toffoli ended the team’s 0-17 power play streak to open the season, scoring his first goal from the front of the net on a Nick Suzuki pass. The goal kept the Habs within a stone’s throw, 2-1 down.

Article content

After the second period, I asked the Liveblog commenters what they thought of Kotkaniemi’s return. Some answers:

“I’m glad I let him go” – Kelly Morgan

“Inconsistent.” -Marc Taillefer

“If he had any ability and will, he would be a good prospect.” -Da Hema

“Except for the boos, so far it’s not a factor. He has the third-fewest ice time in this game and has yet to record a point with the Canes this season. All that for $ 6 million… ”-Hermanus Wittebol

They weren’t wrong at the time, but of course the one time I ask a question in the middle of the game we all end up eating our words.

At 9:23 on the third, Brady Skjei fired from the spot. Kotkaniemi was the only one who got between the puck and Allen in the goal, and Kotkaniemi launched a hoot to the belly that fooled the goalkeeper. Carolina took a 3-1 lead in the first from Kotkaniemi with her new club.

Article content

Afterward, Kotkaniemi was all smiles.

Article content

Gallagher got another shot at the gate against Andersen, only this time, the keeper had enough to keep the puck out. When Gallagher returned to the bench, he struck his cane in frustration.

Article content

An empty net from Aho made it 4-1. After the game, the Hurricanes’ Twitter account rubbed more salt on the wound.

Article content

In the grand scheme of things, falling to 0-5 is far worse than losing to Kotkaniemi and the Canes. The Habs are now truly in 1995-96 territory with five straight losses to open the season. They will look to reverse the streak on Saturday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Liveblog commenters are compiling resumes for various positions, including Youppi’s General Manager, Coach, Owner, and Shoeshine. On dark days like these, only Diane Bibaud is safe …

3. “Will this be the year with the worst team start in team history? OMG, they really suck. But what the hell can you do now? Fire the coach, make a trade. I don’t think anything can help this team right now. They seem to be destined as the worst Canadiens team of all time. Sad !! “-Mike C

2. “And what’s that horrible knock knock… knock knock… who’s there Montreal joke? Owen … Owen, who? 0 a 5! “-Haari Meech

1. “Are the Buffalo Sabers the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL, or are the Montreal Canadiens the Buffalo Sabers of the NHL?” -Da Hema