Montreal 4, Ducks 3, shootout.
An early lead vanished into thin air at Honda Center, leaving the Ducks' playoff chances slightly dimmer than they were at the beginning of the day.
Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec scored on the Canadiens' final two shootout attempts on Jonas Hiller - the former a disputed goal that trickled over Hiller's arm and over the goal line. Ryan Getzlaf scored the only shootout goal for the Ducks, who needed two points in the standings but only got one.
"When you lose that way, it's pretty disappointing, even though we got the one point," Ducks center and former Habs captain Saku Koivu said. "Especially for myself, I've waited for this game for quite a while. I'm happy it's done now, but I'm disappointed that we lost that point."
Brian Gionta and Tomas Plekanec scored on the Canadiens' final two shootout attempts on Jonas Hiller - the former a disputed goal that trickled over Hiller's arm and over the goal line. Ryan Getzlaf scored the only shootout goal for the Ducks, who needed two points in the standings but only got one.
"When you lose that way, it's pretty disappointing, even though we got the one point," Ducks center and former Habs captain Saku Koivu said. "Especially for myself, I've waited for this game for quite a while. I'm happy it's done now, but I'm disappointed that we lost that point."
The Ducks scored three goals on Carey Price in the first period, chasing the Montreal netminder and giving Jonas Hiller a nice early cushion.
Sixteen seconds after a successful penalty kill, Corey Perry slung a wrister through at 8:54 to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. With the Habs' Taylor Pyatt in the penalty box at 12:54, Lubomir Visnovsky took the opportunity to score his first goal as a Duck, maneuvering through the defense and wristing the puck past Price for a 2-0 lead.
With 52.8 seconds left in the first, Scott Niedermayer skated through the slot, took a Ryan Getzlaf pass and backhanded it past Price for the 3-0 advantage.
Jaroslav Halak was in net to start the second period, and the Canadiens responded to the change with a breakaway goal by Plekanec at 7:48.
Up 3-1, the Ducks stayed in cruise control until late in the third, when a blind backhand pass up the boards by Getzlaf was intercepted by Montreal, allowing Brian Gionta to score with 1:50 left in the third period. Halak was pulled for an extra attacker and Andrei Markov converted the 6-on-5 advantage, netting the equalizer with 10.4 seconds left to force overtime.
"We had a 3-0 lead and turnover after turnover led to letting them back in the hockey game," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have to take responsibility for that."
Aaron Ward picked up his first assist as a Duck by assisting on Perry's goal.
Sixteen seconds after a successful penalty kill, Corey Perry slung a wrister through at 8:54 to give Anaheim a 1-0 lead. With the Habs' Taylor Pyatt in the penalty box at 12:54, Lubomir Visnovsky took the opportunity to score his first goal as a Duck, maneuvering through the defense and wristing the puck past Price for a 2-0 lead.
With 52.8 seconds left in the first, Scott Niedermayer skated through the slot, took a Ryan Getzlaf pass and backhanded it past Price for the 3-0 advantage.
Jaroslav Halak was in net to start the second period, and the Canadiens responded to the change with a breakaway goal by Plekanec at 7:48.
Up 3-1, the Ducks stayed in cruise control until late in the third, when a blind backhand pass up the boards by Getzlaf was intercepted by Montreal, allowing Brian Gionta to score with 1:50 left in the third period. Halak was pulled for an extra attacker and Andrei Markov converted the 6-on-5 advantage, netting the equalizer with 10.4 seconds left to force overtime.
"We had a 3-0 lead and turnover after turnover led to letting them back in the hockey game," Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have to take responsibility for that."
Aaron Ward picked up his first assist as a Duck by assisting on Perry's goal.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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