After failing to score in either of the series’ first two games, a trip back to the rowdy Bell Centre was just what the doctor ordered for the Montreal Canadiens’ ailing offense, as they exploded for five goals in Game 3 to cut the series lead to 2-1. The Habs got goals from five different players, including leading scorer Mike Cammalleri, while Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves to keep the Flyers at bay.
Cammalleri opened the scoring just over 7 minutes into the first period, as the Canadiens came out hustling and doing a good job of what the Flyers had done to them in the first two games. They peppered Michael Leighton with 38 shots and kept constant pressure on the Flyer defensemen, forcing turnovers and banging home rebounds. Tom Pyatt gave the Habs a 2 goal lead heading into the 2nd, and the Flyers never really got settled at any point in this one.
Dominic Moore squeaked a wrist shot through Leighton’s legs midway through the 2nd period to give Montreal a 3-0 lead, and Brian Gionta scored his 8th goal of the playoffs just 2 minutes into the 3rd to remove any hope Philly had of mounting a late comeback. Simon Gagne ruined Jaroslav Halak’s shutout bid with his goal later in the 3rd, but that was about all the Clyers would be able to take away from this effort. As emotions boiled over late in the game, Marc-Andre Bergeron scored the Canadiens’ first powerplay goal of the series in the final minute to give the raucous crowd a little something extra to cheer about.
After being outscored 9-0 in the first two games of the series, Montreal came out looking like a completely different team on Thursday night. They did a good job of keeping the Philadelphia powerplay from getting too comfortable, but the real difference maker was the fact that the Habs controlled the flow of play for basically the entire night. Halak looked much better than he did at any point during the two games in Philadelphia, and Montreal looks like they finally decided to show up.
