Jaroslav Halak Makes 47 Saves As Canadiens Beat Maple Leafs 3-2 In OT
Posted December 26, 2009 10:04 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Jaroslav Halak helped the Montreal Canadiens pull another game out of the fire.
The Habs goaltender made 47 saves before teammate Andrei Kostitsyn scored 34 seconds into overtime Saturday in Montreal’s 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kostitsyn’s winner came on a hard wrist shot from the top of the circle that eluded Leafs netminder Jonas Gustavsson.
Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec also had goals for Montreal (19-18-3). Halak has stopped 180 of 186 shots during a four-game win streak.
Ian White and Jason Blake replied for the Maple Leafs (13-7-9).
Toronto found itself in an all-too familiar position early on, falling behind 2-0 for the 19th time in 39 games this season.
Gomez opened the scoring on a power play at 3:34 of the first period after Gustavsson failed to control a rebound. Plekanec made it 2-0 just 54 seconds later, turning Leafs defenceman Jeff Finger inside-out and beating Gustavsson high to the glove side.
Despite those early goals, the Habs weren’t able to sustain much offensive momentum. Instead, they sat back and relied on Halak, who made a fourth straight start and was air-tight in the face of another offensive onslaught.
He held Toronto off the scoreboard during a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:18 in the first period and stood tall on an Alexei Ponikarovsky breakaway in the second.
In fact, Halak wasn’t beaten until Toronto’s 33rd shot of the night, a blast from the point by White that made its way through traffic at 15:07 of the second.
Gustavsson made one of his best saves not long after that goal, closing his pads on a dangerous rush from Max Pacioretty.
The Maple Leafs tied the game 2-2 at 2:41 of the third on an unusual goal from Blake. The Leafs winger was batting at a loose puck from the edge of the crease and saw it go in after he was shoved from behind by Montreal defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron.
Toronto had its fair share of chances to win the game in regulation.
Niklas Hagman rang a shot off the post on a rush up the left wing before Halak got his glove on a hard shot from Phil Kessel. With roughly 10 seconds left in regulation, Kessel missed an empty side of the net with a one-timer.
As a result, the teams headed to extra time for the third time in four meetings this season.
