A very sloppy performance and some key mistakes made the difference for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
The loss, the first of the best-of-five Eastern Conference Qualifiers round, buries the Penguins into a 1-0 deficit. It is the seventh consecutive playoff loss for the Penguins dating back to May, 2018.
The Penguins peppered Montreal goaltender Carey Price with shots in the first period, but the former Vezina Trophy recipient stood his ground, saving all 18 shots he saw. Montreal only posted six first period shots, but a lucky bounce gave Canadiens youngster Jesperi Kotkaniemi his first career playoff goal and the Habs a 1-0 lead.
Nearly seven minutes into the second period, Montreal center Nick Suzuki got a golden opportunity and converted, snapping a wrister over the glove side of goaltender Matt Murray to give the Canadiens a 2-0 edge,
That lead did not last for long, however.
Sidney Crosby responded nearly three minutes later, banking a shot off of the right pad of Carey Price and into the net, giving the Penguins some life and cutting the deficit to 2-1. Less than three minutes after Crosby's goal, Bryan Rust tapped another one home, tying the game up at 2-2.
The score remained 2-2 through the third period, but Conor Sheary had a chance to heavily swing Pittsburgh's momentum. With just over three minutes remaining in the period, Sheary was awarded a penalty shot, but he was unsuccessful, missing the net with his shot.
At the 13:14 mark of the overtime period, a sloppy play by Jared McCann gave Jonathan Drouin a breakaway attempt. Defenseman Jack Johnson got back and stopped him, but Drouin was awarded a penalty shot in the process. However, Drouin whiffed on his opportunity, and the game proceeded.
With just over six minutes to go, Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry walked into the zone and shot one past Matt Murray, sealing the victory for the Canadiens.
Matt Murray saved 27 of the 30 shots he faced on the evening. Jared McCann, Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist and Justin Schultz all recorded assists for Pittsburgh.
The fifth-seeded Penguins (0-1) and twelfth-seeded Canadiens (1-0) will meet again on Monday evening at 8 PM ET from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
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