Andrei Svechnikov scored with less than five minutes left in the first overtime period Monday, lifting the Carolina Hurricanes past the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals and giving Carolina a 2-1 series lead.
The winner came after a game Carolina controlled for long stretches. The Hurricanes outshot Montreal 38-13, and the Canadiens managed just one shot on net in the final 37:40. Svechnikov said that is exactly how Carolina wants to play when games tighten late: “I just really think it's our mentality of the team. We love tight games. Overtime, we love that, and we love staying above them, and don't give them lots of chances, and I think that's why we won that again in overtime.”
Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring early in the first period with his first goal of the postseason, and Carolina has now scored first in nine postseason games. The only blemish on its 10-1 record when scoring first came in Game 1 of this series, when Montreal surged to a 4-1 first-period lead and won 6-2. Mike Matheson tied Game 3 late in the opening frame after a pass from Ivan Demidov, and Montreal has now scored a first-period goal in 11 straight games.
The matchup stayed tight because of Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes, who made 35 saves and finished with a.921 save percentage. Carolina’s Frederik Andersen stopped 11 shots and posted an.846 save percentage. That goaltending duel kept the Canadiens within reach even as the Hurricanes kept pressing, but Carolina still found the edge in overtime for the second straight game after winning Game 2 on Saturday in the same fashion.
Carolina is now 5-0 in overtime and on the road in the postseason, a run that has helped it recover from the Game 1 loss and seize control of the series. Canadiens coach Rod Brind'Amour said his team was comfortable when the game reached extra time and trusted the way it was playing. Sebastian Aho was less interested in the details after the buzzer. “I don't even care,” he said. “They have good technology. They'll figure it out. Honestly, we'll take the win and move forward.”
For Montreal, the concern goes beyond one loss. The Canadiens dropped consecutive games for the first time this postseason, and they did it while being pinned back for much of Monday’s game. Carolina’s shot advantage, its repeated success in overtime and its habit of scoring first are the numbers that matter now, because they point to a team that has found a way to bend a series back in its favor even when the games stay close.
