Hockey

Chris Kreider scores hat trick in heavy Canadian defeat
Dose
Chris Kreider scores hat trick in heavy Canadian defeat
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot

Tonight, the Canadiens were in Madison Square Garden as they tried to build on Tuesday night's win over the (horrible) Ducks to take on the (more powerful) Rangers.

For the occasion, Brendan Gallagher returned to the Montreal line-up, while Jesse Ylönen skipped his turn.

Samuel Montembeault was in net for the club.

For the home team, Jonathan Quick was in net.

Here's the rest of the lineup:

There was a bit of action in the first period when Brandon Gignac came close to finding the back of the net, but his goal was disallowed.

That said, what caught the eye for much of the first period was the horrific injury sustained by Blake Wheeler.

He left the game and never came back… and it looks like he'll be out for a long time, unfortunately.

Late in the period, however, Jake Evans made a Superman of himself as he dove in for the game's first goal.

A second goal in two games for Evans.

After 20 minutes, the score was 1-0 in favor of the Habs… who looked right at home against a big team.

And while things were still going well for the Tricolore in the first half of the second period, the chain really came off after that.

The club scored no less than four goals in 4:10. Here they are, in sequence.

Late in the period, however, the Habs were able to start believing again, as Juraj Slafkovský unleashed an excellent shot to bring the teams back to within two goals of each other.

In the process, he became the first player under the age of 20 in the club's history to register at least one point in seven consecutive games.

After 40 minutes, the score was 4-2 in favor of the home team.

Early in the third, however, the Rangers regained a three-goal lead following this Vincent Trocheck net.

But once again, the Tricolore didn't give up: Cole Caufield took advantage of a Jonathan Quick blunder to add a goal to his record.

Clearly not the finest of his career… but he'll take it.

However, the Rangers machine continued to score goals galore. First, Chris Kreider completed his hat trick.

We know how much he's appreciated in Montreal…

Then Kaapo Kakko scored his team's seventh goal.

To say that Johnathan Kovacevic had a tough time of it on the sequence would be an understatement, quite frankly.

And as if this game needed more goals, Cole Caufield decided to add a second one later in the third period.

At least, his second goal was a lot better than his first.

But in the end, it's a pretty crushing defeat for the Canadiens, who can't afford to allow so many goals if they want to win games.

And once again, it shows that Samuel Montembeault has to be unstoppable to give his club a chance to win.

Final score: 7-4 New York

The Canadiens return to action on Saturday night, when they take on the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre.


Overtime

– The Habs were really in the game in the first 30 minutes, but everything became (extremely) difficult after that. Defensive play was abysmal, and even if the offense offered a few goals, you won't often win by giving up seven goals.

– The good news is that, once again, the club's (young) first trio found a way to generate offense. Cole Caufield scored for the first time since January 25, and while his first goal won't go down in history, his second is a real Caufield goal. And for Slafkovský, seven games in a row with at least one point is going very well for a 19-year-old.

– I'm starting to think the same thing.

– That's a good one.

– Still.

– The Rangers' big guns hurt the Habs tonight.

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