Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Once considered an afterthought, the eighth- seeded Montreal Canadiens are improbably headed to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 17 years after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2, in Game 7 of the conference semis -- the final game at Mellon Arena.
Canadiens 5, Penguins 2: Surprising Montreal Is Headed To Eastern Conference Finals
Brian Gionta scored twice, Michael Cammalleri added his league-leading 12th goal this postseason and Jaroslav Halak was outstanding in making 37 saves to help lead the Canadiens to their first conference finals since 1993, the last time the storied franchise won the Stanley Cup.
Dominic Moore and Travis Moen also scored for Montreal, which is the first eight-seed in the Eastern Conference to win two playoff series since the current format was adopted in 1994. The Habs have certainly had the flair for the dramatic this postseason, ousting the heavily-favored Presidents' Trophy- winning Capitals in seven games in the first round before disposing of the defending Stanley Cup champs on Wednesday.
The Habs will next face either long-time rival Boston or Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals.
Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal tallied for the Penguins, who were looking to become the first team since the 1990-92 Bruins to advance to the conference finals in three consecutive seasons.
The two-time defending conference champs were doomed by the lack of production from their stars. Sidney Crosby ended the series with one goal and four assists, Evgeni Malkin had only a goal and an assist and Marc-Andre Fleury allowed four goals on 13 shots in this contest before being lifted for Brent Johnson. Neither Crosby nor Malkin had a point in Wednesday's decisive game.
Pittsburgh, which had won its last four Game 7s, closed out the only home its ever known in forgettable fashion. Ironically, Montreal also won the first- ever hockey game played at what was known then as Civic Arena in 1967.
Crosby was called for boarding just 10 seconds into the game, and the Canadiens tallied the all-important first goal on the ensuing power play.
During another delayed penalty on Pittsburgh, Montreal’s PK Subban sent a backhand toward the net from the left boards. Gionta stood directly in the path of the puck and was able to redirect it past Fleury on the short side 32 seconds into the contest.
The visitors kept putting together good chances, while Pittsburgh struggled to test Halak; Montreal nearly made it 2-0 with 12:40 left in the first, but Maxim Lapierre’s shot hit the right post.
As time wound below six minutes remaining in the first, Lapierre forced the puck behind the net but was checked by Pittsburgh's Brooks Orpik. As the puck bounced away, Orpik continued to check Lapierre, leaving the slot wide open. Moore was able to force a turnover in Pittsburgh's zone, skate to the vacated slot area and fire a wrister past Fleury at 14:23 for a 2-0 edge.
It only got worse for Pittsburgh, which gave up two more goals in the first five-plus minutes of the second period.
Another turnover in the Pens' zone led to Montreal's third goal, which was a perfect display of passing between Jaroslav Spacek, Andrei Kostitsyn and Cammalleri, who received a pass in the slot and one-timed it past Fleury at 3:32.
Pittsburgh looked to have an opportunity to get back into the game on a power play a short time later, but it was the Habs who increased their advantage while shorthanded at 5:14. Moen grabbed another Penguins turnover and moved up ice, passing it to himself ahead of defenseman Sergei Gonchar as he skated past the blue line. He corralled the puck at the top of the left circle and blasted a shot past Fleury, who was pulled in favor of Johnson after the play.
A fortunate bounce finally helped the Pens crack the scoreboard. Kris Letang had a shot from in close get blocked and sent off toward the side boards, but the disc bounced off the referee's skate and back to Kunitz, who was stationed to the left of the crease and fired it into the net at 8:36 for a three-goal game.
Pittsburgh started to gain control of the game’s pace and cut its deficit to two with a power-play goal late in the second, when Staal shook off a defender and tipped in Alexei Ponikarovsky’s blast from the top of the slot with 3:30 remaining for a 4-2 contest.
The Pens looked to climb closer in the third with a power play to start the frame, but Halak made a couple outstanding saves on Crosby and Malkin from just outside the crease.
The hosts’ momentum was killed when they took a too-many-men penalty with 11 minutes left, and Montreal sealed Pittsburgh’s fate with a power-play tally.
At exactly the midpoint of the period, Gionta was stationed at the left post and shoved Cammalleri’s rebound into the wide-open net before Johnson could get into position.
The Penguins pulled Johnson with over four minutes to play in the game, but Halak stopped all 18 shots he faced in the third period to help Montreal seal the shocking victory.
This was the first Game 7 at Mellon Arena since 1996, when Pittsburgh lost to Florida in the East finals...Edmonton is the only eight-seed to advance to the conference finals, and they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006 before losing to Carolina...The team that has scored first has won 95 of 132 Game 7s...Cammalleri scored four goals in the last three games...Road teams are 3-0 in Game 7s this postseason...Pittsburgh dropped to 7-5 all time in Game 7s, including 2-5 at home...Montreal is 13-8 in Game 7s in its history, including 5-5 on the road...The Canadiens are the first team to defeat both the Presidents’ Trophy winners and defending champs (with the two designations belonging to two different teams) since the 1990-91 Northstars...Montreal has won its last four Game 7s dating back to 2004...The Penguins will move into the CONSOL Energy Center next season.
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