Key Takeaways
- Minnesota beat Montreal 2–1 in overtime on Kirill Kaprizov's power-play goal 21 seconds into the extra period.
- Nick Suzuki had tied the game with 1:38 left in regulation.
- Montreal honoured Carey Price before the game, a night after his Hockey Hall of Fame induction.
On Carey Price's night, Montreal got 41 seconds of joy
The Canadiens lost 2–1 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre on Tuesday — on the night the franchise honoured Carey Price, one day after his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Before puck drop, Shea Weber added Price's name to the team's Ring of Honour.
For two periods, the ceremony was the only scoring news. Alex Newhook had an apparent power-play goal overturned on review — the puck hit iron and never crossed the line — and the game stayed scoreless into the third.
Bobby Brink finally broke it at 2:53 of the third, an unassisted breakaway after Josh Anderson couldn't control a flip into the neutral zone. Jesper Wallstedt (27 saves) carried the shutout deep — until Nick Suzuki knocked a rebound inside the left post at 18:22, with 1:38 remaining, to tie it 1-1 and blow the roof off the building.
The call, and the 21-second ending
Forty-one seconds after Suzuki's equalizer, Cole Caufield was called for slashing — on the play where Quinn Hughes' stick blade broke. That put Minnesota on a 4-on-3 power play to open overtime, and it took 21 seconds: Kirill Kaprizov, one-timer from the right circle. His 17th goal of the season, his 15th career overtime goal (tying Caufield for the most since their 2020-21 debuts), and a point streak now at nine games.
Jacob Fowler made 22 saves for Montreal and still has no regulation loss in his last 10 starts (8-0-2). Minnesota runs its point streak to nine games (7-0-2) at 13-3-4; Montreal's point streak reaches 11 (8-0-3) at 11-3-4 despite the loss.
The Twikup Take
Montreal did everything the script asked — tied it late, at home, on a legend's night — and then a broken stick and a slashing call rewrote the ending in under a minute. The Habs will take the point and the ceremony. They'll remember the 41 seconds between the tying goal and the penalty for a long time.
Image: Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price during a practice with his team by Kristina Servant, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.