After a terrible first period the Habs bounced back nicely to force overtime. It's nice to see the team not quit after showing very little urgency late in the game against the Bruins.
The first period saw a pair of bizarre goals put the team in an early hole. The first goal was a poorly-handled rebound that bounced on Alexei Emelin's leg and on about 36 other things before finally going in. Everyone looked bad on that play. The second goal should have never counted and the refs clearly blew the call. The puck was sitting on top of the net (should be an automatic whistle) and the Hurricanes player flipped it off the net (high stick - should be an automatic whistle). The puck was immediately passed around for the second Hurricanes goal.
The stud of the game is Lars Eller, who scored a shortie to put the team on the board in the second period. He added an assist on the game-tying goal in the third period. His ice time has been cut since Scott Gomez returned which is just wrong. Eller has done nothing wrong.
Speaking of Gomez, tonight he was back to his old habits. He was soft on the puck, fired blind passes in all directions and did not hustle back at all to help the defenders. He left the game with a mystery injury (lower body according to L'Antichambre) and did not return.
Brian Gionta was minus-3 but scored the game-winning goal in the shootout.
Carey Price had a pretty average game but was solid down the stretch. To me the mark of a great goalie is that you trust him to make the next save no matter what happened previously. He played a major role in the team getting back in the game.
Josh Gorges had an assist and now has nine points in 22 games. That scales up to 34 points in 82 games which is outstanding for a defensive player. That dollar figure keeps rising.
Hal Gill returned and played 22 minutes. It was nice to get some size and experience back in there.
Travis Moen scored his seventh goal to tie the game late. He typically starts hot and fades away as the season progresses but this year he might produce a few extra goals in what is a contract year for him.