Tommy Novak absolutely sniped his second goal of the night in overtime, snatching a wild 6-5 victory for the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. But honestly, that score barely tells half the story of a game where Pittsburgh almost handed Montreal the win after blowing a massive four-goal lead in the second period. What a rollercoaster!
Pittsburgh Almost Throws It All Away While Making History
Pittsburgh was rolling, man, outshooting Montreal a ridiculous 23-5 during a 25-minute stretch and blasting their way to a 5-1 lead in the second period. Evgeni Malkin bagged his second power-play goal of the season, and we saw goals from Declan Carlile, Sam Girard, Novak, and Ben Kindel, who just got activated from injured reserve and scored on a power play himself. Everything looked locked up, like, 100 percent in the bag.
And while all that chaos was unfolding, we had some serious history being made. Evgeni Malkin wasn’t just scoring and dishing assists, he was stacking up points to hit his 1,411th career point, pushing past Dale Hawerchuk for 22nd all-time in NHL history. And Sidney Crosby, of course, grabbed an assist, the 1,109th of his career, which ties him with Hall of Famer Joe Thornton for seventh-most in league history. Imagine making history in a game you almost throw away! Franchise icon and hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux even dropped the ceremonial puck to celebrate the Penguins’ 60th season, so the stakes were definitely there.
The Canadiens’ Insane Comeback That Forced OT
But then, dude, the wheels just started wobbling HARD. Montreal, who made it to the Eastern Conference Final last season and were looking to go 2-0 for the first time since 2015-16, just refused to quit. Nick Suzuki kicked off their insane comeback at 18:46 in the second period, and suddenly the Penguins’ fortress started cracking.
The third period was an absolute nightmare for Pittsburgh. Cole Caufield scored twice, then Chris Kreider nets one with just 1:08 left to play. And if that wasn’t enough to make your stomach drop, Ivan Demidov finds the back of the net with a mere 44 seconds left in regulation to TIE IT UP. From 5-1 to 5-5. Are you kidding me? Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 20 shots, but Montreal’s Jakub Dobes made 24 saves, keeping them in it and fueling that unbelievable rally.
Novak Saves the Day, What’s Next for These Teams?
Thankfully, Tommy Novak saved Pittsburgh from what would have been an absolutely brutal choke job. He ripped that 2-on-1 from Malkin at 1:33 in overtime, putting an end to the madness. What a wild ride! Pittsburgh hosts Winnipeg on Monday before hitting the road for six of their next seven games. Meanwhile, Montreal kicks off a four-game homestand on Tuesday against Carolina. You gotta wonder how much momentum that comeback gives the Canadiens, even in a loss, and how much a near collapse like that rattles the Penguins, even in a hard-fought win.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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