Canadiens come up short on a memorable night at Bell Center

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Former Montreal Gazette sports columnist Michael Farber eleven wrote: “Only two institutions in Western civilization truly grasp ceremony: the House of Windsor and the Montreal Canadiens.”

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While the Canadiens are the worst team in the NHL this season, they still do pre-game ceremonies better than any other team. That was the case again Saturday night before they lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Seattle Kraken.

Before the puck dropped on Hockey Night in Canada, there was a beautiful pre-game tribute to the people of Ukraine with pianist Michael Mahut and cellist Anna Bragina playing an instrumental version of John Lennon’s Imagine while the ice was bathed in blue and yellow lights, and fans held up their cell phones with the flashlights turned on.

It was both beautiful and sad at the same time with thoughts of Russia continuing to attack Ukraine.

It’s hard to even imagine what’s happening in Ukraine and UNICEF volunteers were collecting donations at the Bell Center doors, and in Section 117 as part of a continuing response to help Ukrainians in the war with Russia.

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For the Canadiens, this was the first time in three months they were allowed to have a full house at the Bell Center as provincial COVID-19 restrictions continue to be lifted. It was nice to see restaurants near the Bell Center coming back to life before the game and a lineup of cars outside the Bell Center parking lot — a sign of things slowly getting back to somewhat normal. The first “Go Habs Go!” chant started 15 seconds into the game.

It was a night to be thankful to be Canadian while thoughts were with Ukraine. Before the puck dropped, members of Canada’s Olympic team were honored at center ice, including short-track speed-skater Charles Hamelin, who won his sixth Olympic medal (a gold) at the Beijing Games.

This was a game between two teams imagining better days ahead. The expansion Kraken improved their record to 18-37-6 and moved into 30th place in the overall NHL standings, two points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes (18-35-4). The Canadiens remain in last place in the 32-team league with a 15-35-8 record, including 8-17-2 at home.

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Yanni Gourde, Ryan Donato and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken in regulation time and Marcus Johansson scored the only goal in the shootout that saw seven players from each team shoot.

Michael Pezzetta, Alexander Romanov and Nick Suzuki scored for the Canadiens.

Gourde opened the scoring on a bizarre short-handed goal at 9:26 of the first period when goalie Sam Montembeault stopped the puck with his glove and instead of freezing it or putting it behind the net, gave it to defenseman Chris Wideman in front of the net. While Wideman was trying to get the puck on his stick, Gourde flattened him with a check and knocked the puck into the net.

Pezzetta tied it 1-1 at 14:50 of the first period by going to the dirty area in front of the Kraken net (something he’s good at) and banging in a pass from Jake Evans for his fifth goal of the season. Donato made it 2-1 at 16:42 of the first period, scoring on a big rebound off the back boards on a missed shot by Marcus Johansson.

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McCann scored the only goal of the second period at 15:05 beating Montembeault with a quick shot to the blocker side after being left alone in the high slot.

Romanov made things interesting only 1:04 into the third period when he stepped into a slapshot from the top of the faceoff circle to goalie Phillip Grubauer’s right and beat him high to the short side for his third goal of the season.

With the Canadiens taking it to the Kraken as the clock ticked down, there was a loud “Go Habs Go!” chant with five minutes left, followed by “the wave” a couple of minutes later, and another “Go Habs Go!” before Suzuki tied it up when his centering pass was accidentally deflected into the net by Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson at the 17:48 mark.

The shootout was certainly exciting, but in the end this was a game that will likely be remembered as much for what happened before the puck dropped as for what happened during the game.

Here’s hoping for better days ahead for all.

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