Recapping Game 3 between Golden Knights, Canadiens

By Ben Gotz

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andr ... — Montreal Canadiens’ Josh Anderson (17) scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury as Canadiens’ Paul Byron and Knights’ Brayden McNabb (3) look for the rebound during overtime in Game 3 of an NHL hockey semifinal series, Friday, June 18, 2021, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price stops a shot as Vegas Golden Knights’ Alex Tuch looks for the rebound during the second period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey semifinal series, Friday, June 18, 2021, in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights’ Nicolas Roy (10) celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey semifinal series, Friday, June 18, 2021, in Montreal. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. CANADIENS

AT A GLANCE

Series recap

Montreal leads 2-1

Game 1 — Knights 4, Canadiens 1

Game 2 — Canadiens 3, Knights 2

Game 3 — Canadiens 3, Knights 2 (OT)

Game 4 — 5 p.m. Sunday, Bell Centre, NBCSN

Game 5 — 6 p.m. June 22, T-Mobile Arena, NBCSN

Game 6 — 5 p.m. June 24, Bell Centre, USA*

Game 7 — 5 p.m. June 26, T-Mobile Arena, NBCSN*

* If necessary

RJ’s three stars

3. Canadiens goaltender Carey Price — He made 43 saves and kept his team in the game when it was getting outworked. An impressive third-period stop on Alex Tuch proved to be crucial.

2. Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo — He scored his third goal in two games in the third period to give his team what was almost the game-winning goal. He has eight points in his last seven games.

1. Canadiens right wing Josh Anderson — He scored the tying and winning goals to give Montreal its first lead of the series. He had one goal this postseason before Friday.

Key play

Anderson’s tying goal with 1:55 left in the third period.

The Knights were close to leaving Bell Centre with a win and regaining home-ice advantage. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury then bobbled a puck behind his net, sending it off his skate and out toward the goal crease.

Anderson was the first man on it and scored into the wide-open cage to tie the game. A surefire win suddenly was up for grabs.

Key stat

0-for-4 — The Knights’ performance on the power play.

They’re 0-for-10 in the series and 4-for-38 in the postseason. Their 10.5 percent success rate on the power play is the lowest among the 16 playoff teams.

Knights quotable

“It’s just an unfortunate bounce. There’s nothing you can do about it. But I don’t think we played the way we played for the first 60 (minutes) in OT. We were a little too passive, let them come at us and unfortunately gave up that goal.” — Knights captain Mark Stone.

Habs quotable

“We had to press in the third period, and obviously we got a fortunate bounce on the tying goal. In OT, it looked like we had a lot more energy than them. We came out hard and found a way to win the hockey game.” — Anderson.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.