About Last Night: All Montreal wants for Christmas is less penalties
The Dallas Stars scored four unanswered goals in a 4-2 comeback win. Michael Pezzetta had the first multi-point game of his career.
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The Dallas Stars hit three power-play goals to send the Canadians on vacation with a 4-2 loss at the American Airlines Center on Friday night.
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At half-time in the game, the Habs were 2-0 up, but the Stars responded with four unanswered goals to victory. Michael Pezzetta had the first multi-point game of his career.
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Coach Martin St. Louis juggled his lines to cheer on a couple of struggling wingers. Nick Suzuki, in the midst of his worst scoring spell of the season (two points in his last eight games), was given Jonathan Drouin and Joel Armia as linemates. Cole Caufield joined Kirby Dach on the second row.
But it was Jake Evans who broke through a season’s goalless drought to score in the first with 4:04 and a power play seconds from the end.
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The Habs were leading 1-0 after a solid first away phase. Then Pezzetta flicked early in midframe to give the Habs a 2-0 lead.
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Then the Habs got into penalty trouble. With Drouin in the box, Roope Hintz brought Dallas on the board with a top corner tip. The Stars pulled away by 22-16 shots after two periods.
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In the third period, Hintz tied the power play with Mike Hoffman in the box for high-sticking. The stars excelled at keeping on the move and wreaking havoc in front of Jake Allen.
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The stars completed the comeback with Pezzetta in the box. Wyatt Johnston was stopped on his first try but he made no mistake on his second to put Dallas 3-2 ahead.
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As Allen was pulled in the final moments, Joel Kiviranta added an empty net.
The Habs go into the holiday break with a 15-16-3 record. After almost single-handedly stealing the game against the Avalanche on Wednesday, Allen delivered another strong performance on Friday, making 32 saves. He could be the only Hab not looking forward to the upcoming break based on current performance.
The liveblog commentators also benefited from some distance after watching three games in which the Habs overshot, missed chances and took too many penalties. You were asked what the Habs should ask for for Christmas. Here’s what they said:
5. “A goal for DRU.” -Carin Latzel
4. “A 60-minute game.” -Kelly Morgan
3. “Keep developing the kids as they are, we got 4 beginners on d and still sticking around in games.” – John Crew
2. “How about a real 2nd line instead?” -Michael Wered
1. “World Peace. More realistic desire than an improved PP.” – Bob Taylor
