The Montreal Canadiens' bid to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference final fell short Saturday night, as the Carolina Hurricanes evened the series with a 3-2 overtime victory.
Game 2 was a low-event, defensive struggle. After 30 minutes, advanced stats showed many lines and pairings at either 100 or zero percent, reflecting a game with little sustained action. Despite generating very little offensively, Montreal was not overmatched or intimidated, skating evenly with Carolina.
Phillip Danault was the architect of both Montreal goals, setting up Josh Anderson for a deflection in the first and then carrying the puck to the net where Anderson scored the equalizer in the third period.
Defensively, Montreal kept the Hurricanes to the outside, limiting them to just 24 shots in regulation. This was a marked improvement over the swarming attacks faced from Buffalo and Tampa Bay in previous rounds. However, the Canadiens' own offensive output was stifled.
A key concern is an apparent injury to defenseman Lane Hutson. After taking a hit, Hutson remained down for several seconds before skating to the bench, visibly upset and slamming the gate. His reaction suggests a significant injury.
The overtime winner resulted from a turnover by Oliver Kapanen at the Carolina blue line, leading to a short-handed situation for Montreal that Noah Dobson could not recover from in time.
Analysis: Carolina's strategy under coach Rod Brind'Amour was conservative, indicating a respect for Montreal's speed. The officiating has also been a factor; Montreal faces more penalties for physical play than it did in the preceding, more violent series. For the Canadiens to advance, they will likely need the series to be permitted a higher level of physicality.
In off-ice news, GM Kent Hughes's acquisition of forward Alex Newhook from Colorado continues to pay dividends. Newhook is the team's leading playoff goal scorer, including two Game 7 winners, while the draft picks given up have yet to make an NHL impact.