On the unofficial Saku Koivu night in Montreal, it would be another member of the Ducks who came away with his team’s glory tonight. Bobby Ryan scored the game-winner in the shootout for the Ducks as they avoided disaster against the Habs winning 4-3.
Anaheim went into the third period with a 3-1 lead but saw it evaporate as the Habs broke out with a full-on attack in the period putting 23 shots on net. Mathieu Darche and Max Pacioretty each had goals in the period to tie the score. From there, the game headed to overtime setting the stage for the possibility of seeing the homecoming Koivu becoming the hero for Anaheim in the extra period, but it didn’t happen as the teams skated scoreless for the final five minutes.
In the shootout, Ryan ended it scoring the only goal of the skills competition in the third round ending a great game for him as he had a goal during regulation to go with his shootout winner. The real star of the night was once again Jonas Hiller as he stopped 37 shots on the game and allowed no goals in the shootout to earn the win. His 21-save third period was what helped keep the Ducks in the game. Carey Price stopped 23 shots in the loss.
For Montreal, it ends a bittersweet night as the fans were more than welcoming to the return of Saku Koivu but saw the former Habs captain do more to help them out by committing three minor penalties as well as assisting on Corey Perry’s 25th goal of the year.