Carolina needed overtime for the second straight game to celebrate another victory, as Andrei Svechnikov scored the winner in the extra frame to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final.
Despite controlling play for much of the first three games, Carolina has struggled to turn that edge into a wider scoring margin. Dropping Game 1 and needing two overtime wins since then is a testament to how well Montreal goalie Jakub Dobeš has played against them.
The Hurricanes came out strong again Monday night striking first at the 8:24 mark of the first period. Shayne Gostisbehere opened the scoring, firing home the rebound off a Mark Jankowski shot that Dobeš had kicked aside.
Montreal tied it at 15:28 when Mike Matheson scored his second goal of the playoffs. From behind the Hurricanes’ net, Ivan Demidov found the defenceman sneaking in. Matheson took the pass in the circle and ripped a shot past Frederik Andersen to make it 1-1.
Carolina quickly regained the lead less than a minute later when Taylor Hall scored his fourth goal of the playoffs. Hall battled through the Canadiens’ defence and jammed the puck in from the top of the crease to make it 2-1.
The score remained that way until 4:43 of the second period, when Montreal tied it again. On the power play, Lane Hutson finished off a give-and-go with Cole Caufield, driving to the net and lifting the puck over Andersen’s outstretched pad to make it 2-2.
Even though Carolina held a lopsided advantage in shots, 32-12 in regulation, the score stayed tied after 60 minutes.
In overtime, Carolina kept pressing but still could not find the winner. After an overturned Noah Dobson goal because Caufield was offside, the Hurricanes finally broke through 14:06 into the extra session. Svechnikov’s shot from above the circle worked its way through traffic and slipped past Dobeš for the game-winning goal.
The series continues Wednesday night at the Bell Centre.
