Ann 2Game 35 Review: Lapierre Gets First Career Hat Trick In Canadiens' 5-2 Win Over Panthers
December 31st 2008 22:40
How often does this happen? Just two days after Andrei Kostitsyn completed his first hat trick in the NHL against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Maxim Lapierre – a reputed grinder – achieved the same feat against the Florida Panthers.
Contrarily to the game against Pittsburgh, it was the Canadiens who conceded the first goal to the crowd's dismay. Indeed, despite being a home game for the Panthers, the arena was invaded by Quebecois snowbirds whose chants of “Go Habs Go” drowned the local fans. Montreal equalized the mark halfway through the first period as Alex Kovalev's shot deflected off a defenseman's skate during a powerplay in which the home team were two men down.
The Canadiens didn't help their cause in the second period as they picked up several penalties (at some point during the period, Steve Begin, Guillaume Latendresse, Mike Komisarek, and Tomas Plekanec were all in the box at the same time). Still, it was the Panthers who found themselves trailing 3-2 at the second intermission. Plekanec continued his excellent work from Sunday with a beautiful highlight-worthy shorthanded goal to give the Habs a 2-1 lead early in the second. David Booth equalized five minutes later after a misunderstanding between Sergei Kostitsyn and rookie Ben Maxwell. Then, the game became the Maxim Lapierre Show.
The center scored his first of the game in the final minutes of the second period, beating Craig Anderson with a wrap-around. He then added his second early in the third period with a slap shot that Anderson could have stopped. Finally, Lapierre finished his night with a shorthanded goal – the second of the game for the Canadiens – in the final seconds of the game as he stole the puck away from a nonchalant Bryan McCabe and slid it into an empty net.
Although Lapierre has always been known as a defensively responsible hard-worker, his performance on Monday showed that he's starting to develop an offensive upside too. This will come handy to Guy Carbonneau in the final stretch of the season.
My 3 Stars:
3. Alex Kovalev
2. Tomas Plekanec
1. Maxim Lapierre
Contrarily to the game against Pittsburgh, it was the Canadiens who conceded the first goal to the crowd's dismay. Indeed, despite being a home game for the Panthers, the arena was invaded by Quebecois snowbirds whose chants of “Go Habs Go” drowned the local fans. Montreal equalized the mark halfway through the first period as Alex Kovalev's shot deflected off a defenseman's skate during a powerplay in which the home team were two men down.
The Canadiens didn't help their cause in the second period as they picked up several penalties (at some point during the period, Steve Begin, Guillaume Latendresse, Mike Komisarek, and Tomas Plekanec were all in the box at the same time). Still, it was the Panthers who found themselves trailing 3-2 at the second intermission. Plekanec continued his excellent work from Sunday with a beautiful highlight-worthy shorthanded goal to give the Habs a 2-1 lead early in the second. David Booth equalized five minutes later after a misunderstanding between Sergei Kostitsyn and rookie Ben Maxwell. Then, the game became the Maxim Lapierre Show.
The center scored his first of the game in the final minutes of the second period, beating Craig Anderson with a wrap-around. He then added his second early in the third period with a slap shot that Anderson could have stopped. Finally, Lapierre finished his night with a shorthanded goal – the second of the game for the Canadiens – in the final seconds of the game as he stole the puck away from a nonchalant Bryan McCabe and slid it into an empty net.
Although Lapierre has always been known as a defensively responsible hard-worker, his performance on Monday showed that he's starting to develop an offensive upside too. This will come handy to Guy Carbonneau in the final stretch of the season.
My 3 Stars:
3. Alex Kovalev
2. Tomas Plekanec
1. Maxim Lapierre
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