(Sports Network) - The surprising Montreal Canadiens will try to grab their first lead of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight, when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 3 at the Bell Centre.
7:00 P.M.: Montreal Looks To Keep Winning Ways Going In Game 3 On Home Ice
The eighth-seeded Canadiens knocked off the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals in seven games during Round 1 and have taken home-ice advantage away from the defending Stanley Cup champions in this best-of-seven series. Montreal earned a split in Pittsburgh by notching a 3-1 victory in Game 2 at Mellon Arena after getting slammed, 6-3, in the opener.
The Canadiens, who will also host Game 4 on Thursday, were just 1-2 as the host in their shocking upset over the top-seeded Capitals in the opening round. Montreal, which came back from a 3-1 series deficit against Washington, had a mediocre 20-16-5 record on home ice during the regular season.
However, Pittsburgh is unbeaten on the road so far in this postseason, winning all three games in Ottawa, including the series-clinching victory in Game 6. The Pens had a solid 22-16-3 record away from the Steel City in 2009-10.
Mike Cammalleri and Jaroslav Halak were the heroes for the Habs is Game 2. Cammalleri notched a pair of goals and Halak rebounded from a shaky opening contest by stopping 38-of-39 shots in the 3-1 victory for Montreal.
Halak, who was shelled for five goals on 20 shots in Game 1, ran his 2010 playoff record to 5-3 by slamming the door on the hosts for the final 55-plus minutes. He has a superb .931 save percentage in eight playoff games this year.
Cammalleri continued to ignite the Habs offense by scoring his seventh and eighth goals of the postseason. Brian Gionta also tallied, while Scott Gomez added a pair of assists for the Canadiens, who improved to 4-2 away from home this postseason.
“It was a fast start for their team, and after what happened in the first game, I knew I had to be better,” said Halak. “This was a better overall game than our first one, because they got two power-play goals early. But this time, they had the early advantage and we didn’t give anything up.”
Matt Cooke posted the lone score for the Penguins, who fell to 2-3 at home in these playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury allowed three goals on 21 shots in defeat.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was held without a point for just the second time in eight playoff games this year. He still leads all players with 16 points in the postseason.
“I felt like we played well and did some good things, but we didn’t score and we definitely need to score,” said Crosby. “When you get your chances you need to make the most of them. But when we look back at the game there isn’t a whole lot we would change.”
The Penguins outshot Montreal by a 30-9 margin after the first period on Sunday.
Both teams are dealing with key injuries in this series. Penguins centerman Jordan Staal, a Selke Trophy finalist this year, is sidelined indefinitely after having surgery to repair a lacerated tendon in his right foot following Friday's series opener.
Montreal's top defenseman Andrei Markov is also out indefinitely with a lower- body injury sustained in Game 1. Markov's injury is in addition to the absence of steady veteran Jaroslav Spacek, who has been battling an undisclosed illness and hasn't played since Game 3 against Washington. Spacek is doubtful for tonight's tilt.
Rookie defenseman P.K. Subban has been given a chance to play because of the injuries on the blue line and has filled in nicely for Montreal. Subban, who has played in just two regular season games at the NHL level, has skated in four games during this postseason and notched three points on one goal and two assists. The second-round pick from the 2007 draft logged 23 minutes, 17 seconds of ice time in Game 2.
Montreal and the Pens have met just once before in the playoffs and that was back in the opening round of the 1998 postseason when Montreal notched a six- game series victory.
The Penguins won three of four against the Habs during the regular-season series. Pittsburgh took the first three encounters by a combined 12-4 margin before Montreal avoided the season sweep with a 5-3 home victory on Feb. 6.
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