 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
MONTREAL (Ticker) -- It was the kind of comeback that can turn around a series. And the Carolina Hurricanes hope it does just that. Defenseman Niclas Wallin scored 3:14 into overtime as the Hurricanes erased a three-goal deficit and defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece. Jeff O'Neill won a faceoff just to the left of goaltender Jose Theodore and pulled it back to the point. With a group of bodies in front, Wallin fired a wrist shot that eluded Theodore for his first career playoff goal. "I saw the net and I just shot it at Theodore," Wallin said. "I don't think he saw the puck. Theodore is not invincible, he can't stop everything. We know we have to go to the net and create traffic." "That's pretty close to the best win I've had in my career," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "We've been behind like this five or six times in the regular season and we've been back. We really show that this team is made up of leaders." Carolina trailed 3-0 after two periods before defenseman Sean Hill scored a power-play goal 3:57 into the third to give the Hurricanes hope. With Carolina on a 5-on-3 power play, Rod Brind'Amour carried the puck down the right wing into the Montreal zone. After receiving a pass at the right point, Sami Kapanen dumped the puck to Ron Francis low on the right side. Francis fed Hill at the right point and the former Canadien fired a slap shot past Theodore for his first point of the postseason. "I'm just going to turn the page tomorrow and forget what happened tonight," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. "The referee (Kerry Fraser) changed the flow of the game. Imagine giving the Hurricanes a 5-on-3 in the third period of the playoffs. I don't have much playoff experience, but I've never seen something like that." Bates Battaglia, who scored Carolina's lone goal in Game Three, cut the deficit to 3-2 with 7:17 remaining before rookie Erik Cole silenced the raucous Molson Centre crowd, scoring the equalizer with 41 seconds to go after the Hurricanes pulled goalie Arturs Irbe. Battaglia, who scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game Two of the conference quarterfinals against New Jersey, unleashed a slapper from just above the right circle that deflected off defenseman Karl Dykhuis' stick and snuck by a surprised Theodore for just the ninth even-strength goal in 10 playoff games for the Hurricanes. After failing the tie the contest on several late chances, Maurice lifted Irbe for an extra attacker. The Hurricanes gained control in the Montreal zone and Battaglia fired a slapper from low in the left circle that Theodore knocked down. As the puck lay to the left of Theodore's left leg, Cole pulled it away and deposited it into an open right side of the net to complete the comeback and send the game to overtime. "That's the biggest goal of my career," Cole said. "It finished off a great period by our team. It put us in overtime and gave us a chance to win." "I think they were only strong in the final seven minutes of the game," Montreal defenseman Stephane Quintal said. "We got the 3-0 lead and we played defensive hockey. It is going to be a hard adjustment for us after blowing the game." Montreal captain Saku Koivu agreed. "It's very frustrating," Koivu said. "We were leading 3-0 after the second period. We have nothing to show. The turning point was that 5-on-3 power play. When the score was 3-1, you can see momentum, you can see the Hurricanes getting confident. I can't explain why we fell apart." Canadiens right wing Gino Odjick doesn't think his team needs to panic. "It's not so bad to lose to the Hurricanes," he said. "After all, they beat the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are a Stanley Cup team. Carolina has a good hockey team. We're tied, 2-2, in the series. The sun will come up tomorrow and I'll still go to the bathroom the way I always do." Andreas Dackell and Yanic Perreault scored 58 seconds apart midway through the first period to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Patrice Brisebois dumped the puck into the Carolina zone from just outside the blue line. Goalie Kevin Weekes was forced to make a save, but failed to control the rebound. The puck bounced away and Dackell, who outhustled defenseman Marek Malik, knocked it past Weekes with 9:04 left for a 1-0 Montreal lead. Perreault corraled the rebound of a shot by Donald Audette in the left circle and fired a wrister over Weekes' left shoulder for a 2-0 advantage. The Hurricanes have failed to score a first-period goal in their last nine playoff games. Irbe replaced Weekes at the start of the second but could not stop Sergei Berezin, who received Doug Gilmour's pass at the left side of the net and tapped it past the Latvian goaltender to put Montreal ahead, 3-0, with 9:05 remaining. Berezin has appeared in just four of Montreal's 10 postseason games. His goal came with Kevyn Adams serving a tripping penalty. The assist was the 127th of Gilmour's postseason career, moving him into a fifth-place tie on the all-time list with Jari Kurri. Francis had two assists for Carolina to give him 30 postseason points with the franchise. The 39-year old captain is one point away from tying Kevin Dineen for the top spot on the franchise's all-time playoff scoring list. Irbe stopped 10 shots in relief for the Hurricanes, who host the pivotal Game Five on Sunday. "The coach needed me, I was ready," Irbe said. "Personally, it's a good feeling to get into a game like that. It's hard to be part of a team and not be near the ice. But I've learned over and over in my career that when I get back into regular play, I'm still the same person." "I have confidence in both of my goalies," Maurice said. "I just felt that was the right time to make the change. I always have confidence in Irbe and Weekes, but look what Irbe showed you." |
|
||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
