@arponbasu.bsky.social
The Athletic’s senior columnist on the Montreal Canadiens, co-host of the Basu and Godin Notebook podcast, regular contributor for Habs on TSN. Subscribe at: Print: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nhl/team/canadiens/ Audio: https://basuandgodin.com/
Canadiens lose to the Ducks 4-3 and go 0 for 2 in a home back to back.
Kaiden Guhle goes into a corner for a puck, falls. Lane Hutson goes into the same corner for the puck, no one's left to defend in front, and Cutter Gauthier scores his 34th of the season to put the Ducks up 4-3 late in the third.
Chris Kreider has tons of room on the entry, finds Troy Terry with a seam pass, he enters the slot and his backhand deflects up and over Jacob Fowler to tie the game 3-3. The goal itself was kind of flukey, everything leading up to it should have been preventable.
Great effort by Juraj Slafkovský to will that puck out of the zone, gets it to Nick Suzuki and he scores off the rush to make it 3-2 Canadiens.
That's what Josh Anderson can do. Ian Moore wanted nothing to do with that puck with Anderson charging toward him and got rid of it as soon as possible. Delay of game, Canadiens power play.
No Canadiens player has scored 39 goals in a season since Max Pacioretty in 2013-14
Cole Caufield off a quick up and it's tied 2-2. That release is just lethal. 39 goals on the season now.
Lane Hutson slides into space and finds Alex Newhook for a one-timer from the circle that beats Dostal clean and it's back to a one-goal deficit, 2-1 Ducks.
Leo Carlsson gets his second of the night, Canadiens d-zone faceoff coverage not great again. Nick Suzuki loses him after losing the draw and Carlsson is alone to let go of a one-timer. 2-0 Ducks.
Canadiens announce Kirby Dach is done for the night. The guy just can't catch a break.
Two nice saves back to back on Carlson and Sennecke from Fowler, especially after going a little while without much action.
Leo Carlsson with an easy tap in off the rush. Defending there was less than ideal. 1-0 Ducks
The Canadiens have added the Jacob Fowler save on Claude Giroux from the other night along with a shot of Fowler with no mask on to their pre-game video package. If there was still any doubt about his permanence in Montreal, it should be erased.
This is the third different line Texier has played on in his three games since being re-inserted into the lineup. The only one he hasn't played on is Kapanen's.
Canadiens warmup lines:
Caufield-Suzuki-Slafkovský
Newhook-Kapanen-Demidov
Texier-Evans-Dach
Anderson-Danault-Gallagher
Matheson-Dobson
Guhle-Hutson
Xhekaj-Carrier
Fowler
Dobeš
No Zack Bolduc in warmup and Arber Xhekaj is in for Jayden Struble.
Mike Matheson was concerned about Igor Chernyshov, and a bit puzzled as to what happened.
“I was honestly very surprised to see him down like that. I guess he kind of got tangled up and hit his head on the ice. Obviously not something you want to see and hopefully he’s ok.”
Celebrini puts it in the empty net with 2:03 to play, seven points in six periods against the Canadiens this season. 4-2 Sharks.
Nick Suzuki gets one back off an Ivan Demidov feed, his 22nd of the season, 3-2 Sharks.
Another long-distance shot, this time from Macklin Celebrini, bounces in off Collin Graf posted up in front of Dobeš. 3-1 Sharks.
San Jose has scored 10 goals against the Canadiens in five periods this season, and Celebrini has six points on those 10 goals.
A Mario Ferraro floater from the blue line gets through a crowd and beats Jakub Dobeš to give the Sharks a 2-1 lead.
Jinx...
Halfway through the game, the 5v5 numbers for Texier-Danault-Anderson, per @naturalstattrick.com :
CF-CA: 11-1
SF-SA: 3-0
XGF-XGA: 0.41-0
HDCF-HDCA: 3-0
Goal is overturned. The offside came 29 seconds before the goal. Make it stop.
Macklin Celebrini scores again, but the Canadiens are challenging for offside and it looks like this will come back.
It is the night of overturned goals. Give the people what they want!
Macklin Celebrini, left alone in the slot off the rush, automatic. 1-1.
Love that both these teams have a 'That 70's Line' and the Sharks version has a member of the original 'That 70's Line'
Cole Caufield scores his 38th of the season, a career high
A deliberately late whistle on that last Nedeljkovic freeze from referee Furman South.
Mike Matheson has drawn the Macklin Celebrini assignment tonight after it was primarily Kaiden Guhle that went up against him in San Jose and got demoralized by him.