After a quick start, Montreal allows four goals in a row before tying things at the end of the third period.
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Josh Norris scored in the fifth round of a shootout to give the Ottawa Senators a 5-4 victory over the Canadiens in the final preseason game for both teams Thursday night at the Bell Center.
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After being outscored for most of the game, the Canadiens tied even after they pulled their goalkeeper out for an additional hitter and Jeff Petry scored with one minute left in the third period to force overtime.
The Canadiens’ unruly play allowed the Senators to turn a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead. The Senators scored two power play goals and added a third goal a second after a penalty expired.
Norris scored both power play goals for Ottawa. He launched the comeback when he scored in the middle of the first period and took advantage of an error to give Ottawa its first lead at 4:24 of the second period. Alex Belzile, who had an additional opportunity to impress because Jonathan Drouin was sidelined by a non-COVID virus, was unable to clear the disc from the Canadiens zone. He put his pass on Norris’s stick and the Ottawa forward beat Jake Allen.
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The Senators began the second period with the power play and Shane Pinto scored as Christian Dvorak came out of the penalty area.
Ottawa outscored Montreal 15-6 in the second period and the Senators led 4-2 at the end of the period with a goal from Chris Tierney. He made a weak shot after a perfect cross pass from Tim Stutzle. The puck slipped through Allen’s pads, but a video review was needed to confirm that the puck crossed the goal line after officials on the ice allowed play to continue.
Nick Suzuki was credited with a power play goal early in the third period. Montreal was 1 of 3 in the power play, while Ottawa was 2 of 7.
With Carey Price out for at least a month, there must be some concern about Montreal’s goal. The two goalkeepers expected to be on the roster to start the season, Allen and the recently acquired Samuel Montembeault, have given up 17 goals in the last eight periods.
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The Canadiens couldn’t have asked for a better start.
Dvorak won the first matchup, and 10 seconds later, Josh Anderson beat Anton Forsberg out of the race for a 1-0 lead.
Petry made it 2-0 when he scored on a delayed penalty at 3:41. Tyler Toffoli put Petry in the left circle with a cross pass and fired before Forsberg could react. Defender Alexander Romanov collected his second assist of the night.
After the game, Allen, Petry and Brendan Gallagher said they planned to support Price, who has entered the league’s player assistance program.
“I’m surprised because I’m close to him and I should have seen him coming,” Gallagher said.
Allen noted that there is a tendency to view Price as a Superman and it is difficult to deal with all the pressures players face on and off the ice.
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Reference-montrealgazette.com