It only took three preseason games, but the Montreal Canadiens finally have their first win in the 2011-12 NHL exhibition season. Trailing the Ottawa Senators 3-0 in the second period, the Canadiens’ line of Max Pacioretty, Scott Gomez and rookie Brendan Gallagher was electric in bringing their team back to life.

PHOTO CREDIT - CBC.ca

Whitby - September 24, 2011 - It only took three preseason games, but the Montreal Canadiens finally have their first win in the 2011-12 NHL exhibition season.

Trailing the Ottawa Senators 3-0 in the second period, the Canadiens’ line of Max Pacioretty (pictured at right), Scott Gomez and rookie Brendan Gallagher was electric in bringing their team back to life. Gomez managed to score the tying goal with only 36.4 seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

Nothing was solved after five minutes of extended play, sending the game to a shootout. The newest Habs love-in, Erik Cole, scored the eventual shootout winner, completing the Habs’ impressive come-from-behind victory over the hometown Senators. For a complete game summary and key game statistics please click on the link at the bottom of this article.

Gomez actually played quite well considering all the hoopla and negativity he has endured from both fans and media alike. He registered six shots on the Ottawa goal.

Pacioretty continued to be an unbelievable powerhouse for the Canadiens as he created scoring chances all night long; he registered nine shots on net.

The three stars of the game were Erik Cole (game winner, 3rd star), Senators’ forward Zack Smith (two goals, 2nd star) and the Habs’ Pacioretty (two goals, nine shots, 1st star). The Habs’ goaltending duo of Carey Price and Nathan Lawson shared playing time in the victory. Senators’ goalie Craig Anderson took the loss for Ottawa.

Both teams resume play tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. and can be heard on the TEAM 990 AM radio or viewed on RDS.

Another Brick in the Wall
Montreal played tough on the blue line last night. Habs’ rookie defensemen Rafael Diaz, Alexei Yemelin and Jarrod Tinordi played a consistent and simply effective game as they mirrored similarities to that of a huge brick wall as the Senators’ forwards could not solve them at Montreal’s blue line. Injuries are starting to mount for the Habs as well. The latest reported injury is that of forward David Desharnais who suffered a lower body injury two nights ago. Lars Eller is hoping to return to action by the start of the 2011-12 NHL season and there are still huge question marks hanging over the swollen right knee of Andrei Markov.

STATS & PHOTO CREDIT - NHL.com