The Seattle Kraken blew a 3-1 lead in the third period but held on to end their five-game eastern road trip with a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a shootout Saturday night.
Yanni Gourde, Ryan Donato and Jared McCann scored for Seattle (17-37-6) in regulation. In addition to his shootout game-winner, Johansson picked up two assists. Philipp Grubauer allowed three goals from 33 shots.
Michael Pezzetta, Alexander Romanov and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal (15-35-7). Samuel Montembeault made 32 saves.
“I think the boys feel pretty good about their game and so do I,” Montreal interim coach Martin St. Louis said. “Sometimes, you don’t know if you’re going to get the goals or if you’re going to get the key saves, but overall we’re in every game and I think the boys see that.”
WATCH l Habs fall to Kraken in shootout:
Philipp Grubauer robbed Ben Chiarot in overtime and then stopped all seven Canadiens he faced in the shootout before Marcus Johansson found the back of the net, as the Seattle Kraken beat Montreal 4-3. 1:33
The Kraken broke the ice on the penalty kill on an awkward play involving Gourde and Chris Wideman. Montembeault left the puck for his defenceman but Gourde’s body check made him score in his own net. Gourde was credited with the short-handed goal.
Pezzetta levelled the score with 5:10 to go in the first period. From the high slot, he bounced a pass from Jake Evans off his skate and beat Grubauer.
Seattle regained its lead two minutes later when Johansson’s shot bounced off the boards and onto Donato’s stick. The centreman didn’t miss his opportunity to score his 13th goal of the season.
WATCH l Canadiens honour Quebec medallists from Beijing Olympics:
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Before their game against the Seattle Kraken, the Montreal Canadiens welcomed Quebec’s Olympic medallists with a ceremony at centre ice. 2:20
McCann notched his 23rd marker of the campaign on the power play at 15:05 of the second period when he was left alone in the high slot. The winger one-timed Johansson’s pass from the corner giving the Kraken a two-goal advantage.
Montreal responded at 1:04 of the third period when Romanov grabbed a loose puck at the point and beat Grubauer with a slap shot.
The Habs tied the game with 2:12 to go in regulation when Larsson redirected Suzuki’s pass into his own net.
After a scoreless overtime and six rounds of the shootout, Johansson finally found the winning goal and left the Bell Centre under a rain of boos.
WATCH l What Canadian teams might do ahead of NHL trade deadline:
March 21st is fast approaching, and Rob Pizzo looks at what changes we could see from the teams north of the border. 6:02