In Montreal, newly acquired Tyler Toffoli struck for a goal at 1:35 of extra time to give the Vancouver Canucks a 4-3 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday night.
“We knew they were tired, so just obviously making those little plays, moving around, and trying to get them to chase us when they’re that tired,” Toffoli said. “I didn’t know if he was going to pass or not, but obviously I was waiting there, and Bo made a really nice play.”
The Canucks had to rally back from 0-2 and 2-3 deficits; Jake Virtanen got the game even in the third to force the extra session.
Thatcher Demko made 37 saves to get the win.
“We had a little bit of a slow start, but we pulled together as a group and just kind of chipped away,” Demko said. “And then we’re down again in the third, and we find a way to tie it up and then eventually win it in overtime. So a good way to start the road trip, and hopefully we can have some better starts.”
Paul Byron and Shea Weber staked the Habs to the early 2-0 advantage.
Bo Horvat got the rally started to halve the Canadiens early lead.
“It was one of those nights where we needed our power play to get a goal or two, and they did,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “When you’re on the road and you get behind, you’re probably going to have to win the special-team game if you want to come back, and our power play really helped us and got the job done tonight.”
Alexander Edler tied the game at 2-2.
“You’re not always going to go out and get the lead,” Green said. “But I didn’t think we were on top of our game the first eight minutes. I thought we found our game the last 12 of the first. We fought the puck a little bit most of the night, I thought, but we found a way to get a win.”
Jordan Weal also scored for Montreal when he gave them a 3-2 lead they could not hold.
“When it gets to overtime, anything can happen,” Max Domi said. “And it’s unfortunate, we got caught out there for a little too long. And when that happens, it’s a matter of just staying with your guy, and sometimes your brain slips or your legs slip, whatever it might be, and then you’ve got to find a way to buckle down. But it’s unfortunate how that one ended tonight.”
[WATCH: All Canucks vs. Canadiens highlights]
Carey Price made 30 saves in the loss.
“That’s a good hockey team over there,” Domi said. “I think we worked hard all game, we played more or less a full 60 (minutes) as a group. We had everyone going, and it’s tough. Obviously when you have a two-goal lead, you’d like to ice the game, but that’s hockey.
?When other teams can score goals too, that’s part of it, and you’ve got to be ready for that. And I think we did a good job of kind of weathering the storm there and finding ways to create opportunities in the third, just couldn’t get that last goal.”
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