Paul Byron scored the game-winning goal late in the second period before Alex Pietrangelo tried his best to will the home team back into the fray with a pair of goals of his own as the Montréal Canadiens stole Game 2 from the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, on the road at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday.
Carey Price (9-4, 2.14 goals-against average, .930 save percentage in 13 games played) made 29 saves on 31 shots against in the win for the Canadiens as Montréal evened the series 1-1.
Golden Knights goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury (9-5, 1.93 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in 14 games played), stopped 20 out of 23 shots faced in the loss.
Jeff Petry and Jon Merrill returned to action for the Habs on their blue line, while Jake Evans remained out of the lineup due to injury.
Vegas forward, Nicolas Roy, was promoted to center Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, while Chandler Stephenson was out due to injury.
Joel Armia (5) pounced on a loose puck and buried it on the short side early in the opening frame while Fleury dove across the crease and came up a little bit short.
Joel Edmundson (4) and Corey Perry (5) tallied the assists on Armia’s goal as the Canadiens jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 6:12 of the first period.
A few minutes later, Petry cut a rut to the penalty box after he tripped up Reilly Smith– presenting the Golden Knights with a power play at 9:51 of the first period in the process.
Vegas did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.
Late in the opening frame, Montréal won an attacking zone faceoff back to the point where Petry worked the puck up to winger, Cole Caufield, as Caufield found Tyler Toffoli (5) for an off-speed one-timer goal.
Caufield (5) and Petry (4) had the assists as the Habs extended their lead to two-goals at 16:30.
Entering the first intermission the Canadiens led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 12-4, in shots on goal.
Montréal also held the advantage in hits (24-13) and faceoff win percentage (55-45), while Vegas led in takeaways (6-2) and giveaways (5-2).
Both teams managed to have eight blocked shots each, while only the Golden Knights had seen time on the skater advantage and were 0/1 after one period.
Armia was sent to the box with a holding infraction to kick things off with a Vegas power play at 5:55 of the second period.
The Golden Knights did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.
Late in the period, Jesperi Kotkaniemi chipped the puck off the boards and through the neutral zone as Josh Anderson tied up Nick Holden at the blue line while the puck trickled past and Byron entered the attacking zone with a breakaway at hand.
Byron (2) scored the eventual game-winning goal as a result and gave Montréal a, 3-0, lead at 17:45 of the second period as Kotkaniemi (1) and Edmundson (5) were credited with the helpers.
A minute later, Pietrangelo (2) sent a wrist shot through heavy traffic past Price as the Canadiens goaltender never saw the puck off of a faceoff win in the attacking zone for the Golden Knights.
Keegan Kolesar (3) had the only assist on Pietrangelo’s first goal of the night as Vegas cut Montréal’s lead to, 3-1, at 18:46 of the second period.
Through 40 minutes of action, the Habs led, 3-1, on the scorebaord and, 16-14, in shots on goal, despite trailing the Golden Knights, 10-4, in shots on goal in the second period alone.
The Canadiens held the advantage in blocked shots (15-14), hits (41-32) and faceoff win% (53-48), while Vegas led in takeaways (6-2) and giveaways (6-3).
As there were no penalties called in the final frame, the Golden Knights finished 0/2 on the power play for the night, while Montréal didn’t even see any time on the skater advantage on Wednesday.
Late in the final frame, Pietrangelo (3) sent the puck through Petry’s legs and under Price’s glove on another goal off an attacking zone faceoff win for the Golden Knights as Vegas cut Montréal’s lead to one-goal.
Jonathan Marchessault (3) and William Karlsson (9) notched the assists on Pietrangelo’s second goal of the night as the Golden Knights trailed, 3-2, at 14:46 of the third period.
Peter DeBoer pulled Fleury for an extra attacker with 1:35 remaining, but it was ultimately to no avail as the final horn sounded and the Canadiens stole Game 2 on the road by a score of, 3-2.
This, after Karlsson delivered a swift cross check that let to Edmundson smashing the boards awkwardly and taking his time to get back up and off the ice on his own after a stoppage with 50.3 seconds remaining.
There was no penalty called and– after Vegas used their timeout– time kept ticking down until the Habs had successfully tied the series 1-1.
The Canadiens won, 3-2, but finished the night trailing in shots on goal, 31-23, as Vegas led, 17-7, in shots on net in the third period alone.
The Golden Knights also held the advantage in giveaways (10-5), while Montréal exited T-Mobile Arena with the lead in blocked shots (26-18), hits (53-45) and faceoff win% (58-42).
As a result of the victory, Price (9-4) earned his ninth win of the 2021 postseason– the most by a Canadiens goaltender in a postseason since Jaroslav Halak (9-9) had nine victories in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The series shifts to Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec on Friday night for Game 3.
Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 8 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch the action on USA Network, while those in Canada can choose from CBC, SN or TVAS as the Canadiens and Golden Knights battle to take a 2-1 series lead.
Down the Frozen River 
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