For a team that did not have many expectations entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens have simply outplayed the Pittsburgh Penguins.
That was evidenced on Wednesday, when the Canadiens defeated the Penguins by a 4-3 tally at Scotiabank Arena.
Montreal netted the first goal of the game just five minutes in, when Shea Weber put one past Matt Murray. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan challenged the call, but his challenge was unsuccessful.
Pittsburgh quickly charged back with two powerplay goals from Patric Hornqvist and Jason Zucker to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Nearly six minutes into the second period, Teddy Blueger deflected one past Carey Price to pad Pittsburgh's lead at 3-1.
The Canadiens quickly jumped back with two goals from Jonathan Drouin and Paul Byron to the tie the contest at 3-3. Just five-plus minutes into the third period, Jeff Petry scored his second game-winning goal of the series, when the blueliner scored another goal.
Matt Murray stopped 27 of 31 shots he faced from the Canadiens. Jack Johnson and Patrick Marleau were both -3 in the defeat, while Justin Schultz, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin went -2.
The Penguins, facing elimination in the best-of-five series, will faceoff with the Canadiens again on Friday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.
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