About Last Night: Habs win 6-3 with head office in flux

November 28, 2021 by thecanadian

Jake Allen made 47 saves in a 6-3 victory for his club over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

Author of the article:

Erik leijon • Special for Montreal Gazette

Publication date:

November 28, 2021 • 21 minutes ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

Sidney Crosby (87) of the Penguins is stopped on ice by David Savard (58) of the Canadiens in Pittsburgh on Saturday, November 27, 2021. Photo by Gene J. Puskar /The Associated Press

It was a busy night both on and off the ice for the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

While Jake Allen made 47 saves in a 6-3 victory for his club over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, the Habs announced that assistant general manager Scott Mellanby had resigned.

The Canadiens may not have planned to make such an announcement during the middle of a game, but they were given few options: Rumors that the Canadiens were talking to former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton were circulating, making it impossible. which indicated that changes were taking place in the administration. Here’s what insiders were saying on Twitter:

Very intriguing situation in Montreal. We know Scott Mellanby is out. I quit. We know there is interest in Jeff Gorton. Geoff Molson is correct in this and it is believed that Gorton is targeted for a very important hockey operations position.

– Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) November 28, 2021

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

Upon learning that Scott Mellanby had extensive conversations with Habs owner Geoff Molson at first about becoming general manager, then that changed and perhaps he would become president of hockey operations. But yesterday they told him he was out of the race. So today he resigned.

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 28, 2021

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

Sources say Marc Bergevin was hurt by the news / rumors about Gorton & Mellanby. He had previously recommended Mellanby to replace him, but was kept in the dark about the ongoing talks / negotiations. Bergevin learned of the rumors through the media. He is still the GM as we speak.

– Louis Jean (@LouisJeanTVAS) November 28, 2021

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

There was still one game to play and it was exciting. Don’t let the scoring fool you: the Canadiens scored three empty nets to skew what was actually a much closer game. Chris Wideman suffered a scratch with an upper body injury, bringing Michael Pezzetta back into the lineup. Casey DeSmith got off to an unusual start in goal in place of Tristan Jarry for Pittsburgh.

The game was scoreless after the first period. After allowing a short goal during a four-minute power play against the Sabers on Friday, the Habs were once again given a four-minute lead after Dominik Simon drew blood from a high stick over Brendan Gallagher. They didn’t score, but they didn’t allow a shorty.

Josh Anderson was a factor with his speed and physical play in the first, which continued throughout the night. In the second, the Habs finally broke the scoreless tie at 3:34 pm when Jonathan Drouin on a breakaway slipped a backhand under DeSmith.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

Soon after, Simon nearly tied the game when his shot went through Allen and dribbled into the net, but Mattias Norlinder was able to intercept the puck as it approached the goal line.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Evan Rodrigues line was dominant all night, placing 26 shots between the three. Rodrigues was the one who tied the game in the power play early in the third. Kristopher Letang kept the puck in the zone, allowing Crosby to connect with Rodrigues on a one-touch pass. The 1-1 draw was one of Rodrigues’ 12 shots on the night.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Habs regained the lead 32 seconds later. Anderson fought his way through two defenders with the puck before Sami Niku found Christian Dvorak wide open in front. Dvorak’s goal made it 2-1.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

The Penguins nearly capped the wild sequence with another tying goal, only this time Allen stole the tie from Rodrigues with a glove.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

Then the Habs took a 3-1 lead. Norlinder sent a puck into the net with three Habs waiting up front for a rebound. After bouncing along the way, the puck landed on Lehkonen’s stick and then deep into the net, giving the Finn his third goal in four games. Norlinder earned his first NHL point.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

The penguins did not give up over time. Anderson continued his valiant display with a key shot block. After the Habs failed to punt, Jeff Carter cut Montreal’s lead to 3-2 with DeSmith retired.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

After Anderson scored a safe marker on an empty net, the Penguins returned the volley, this time Crosby in just one half. There were 4-3 Habs.

This ad has not been uploaded yet, but your article continues below.

That was the closest the penguins got. Anderson scored another empty netter (awarded automatically after Letang knocked him down on a break) and Toffoli got one of his own for a final score of 6-3. It’s not bad to change Mike Cammalleri in the middle of a game, but having to post a statement about a resignation in the front office was an unfortunate distraction on a night the Canadiens won. Allen and Anderson were instrumental in getting Montreal to the top.

Liveblog commentators got two soap operas for the price of one on Saturday. How much fun is that after the season you’ve endured?

3. “Dvorak will fit in perfectly. And if this team starts a rebuild, it will be a valuable piece and a good business token in 2-3 years. It’s worth the cost of draft picks, when all is said and done. “-Curtis Ault

2. “The guys were waiting for Scott Mellanby to quit.” -Sami Mazloum

1. “It was a fun game to watch !! hopefully many more to follow… no team worth its salt should be in the tank! go Habs go! “-Haari Meech

Reference-montrealgazette.com

Leave a Comment Cancel reply