Habs' Late Rally Not Enough as Oilers Clinch Overtime Victory at Rogers Place

The Montreal Canadiens, with a record of 26-30-9, faced off against the Edmonton Oilers, who held a 37-24-5 record. In a closely contested match, the final score read 3-2 in favor of the home team.

The Canadiens entered the third period trailing by one goal but managed to turn things around with two goals to tie the game. Despite their efforts and outshooting their opponents 25 to 32, they couldn't secure a win in regulation time. The game extended into overtime where the Oilers capitalized on their powerplay strength and scored the winning goal.

Montreal's goaltender had an impressive night between the pipes with 29 saves and a save percentage of nearly perfect at ninety-seven percent. However, it was not enough to overcome Edmonton's offense which managed three goals on thirty-two shots. The Habs' penalty kill was put to work as they faced five penalties throughout the game but successfully defended four out of five powerplays against them.

Offensively for Montreal, both goals came during even strength play where they demonstrated efficiency by converting two out of twenty-one shots into goals. Their faceoff performance was strong with a fifty-nine percent win rate overall and an even more impressive sixty-two percent while shorthanded.

On defense, Montreal blocked twenty-one shots and delivered twenty-six hits in an attempt to stifle Edmonton's attackers. Despite these efforts and maintaining discipline with only fifteen penalty minutes compared to Edmonton's eleven minutes, it wasn't enough to secure victory.

The Oilers' winning goal came from their overtime effort where they took six shots before finally breaking through Montreal's defenses. This marked their thirty-seventh victory this season while handing Montreal their thirtieth loss.

Looking ahead for Canadiens fans eager for redemption after this tough loss: The next challenge will be away against Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on March 21st at 7:00 PM MDT. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+.