Hurricanes extend wild-card lead with win over Habs

The Carolina Hurricanes struggled to beat Montreal goaltender Carey Price for 54 minutes.

Then, everything changed.

Andrei Svechnikov scored with 1:45 left in overtime as the Hurricanes rallied to beat the Canadiens 2-1 in a matchup with Eastern Conference playoff implications.

Carolina's Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the tying goal with 5:39 remaining, and Svechnikov ended it with a wrist shot through Price's legs in the extra session.

After Price stopped Carolina's first 36 shots, he allowed two goals on the final four shots he faced.

WATCH | Svechnikov's OT winner lifts Hurricanes over Canadiens:

Game Wrap: Svechnikov's OT winner lifts Hurricanes over Canadiens

6 years ago

Duration 1:41

Andrei Svechnikov's scored the overtime winner as they Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1, extending their lead in the Eastern Conference wild card race.

"It didn't look like it was going to happen," Brind'Amour said. "You're hoping for one or two or three Grade-A chances in the third and we had more than that. So it was like, if those aren't going in, what's going to go in?"

What went in was van Riemsdyk's wrist shot from the point through traffic that clipped the skate of Montreal defenceman Jordie Benn and found the bottom left corner of the net.

"Obviously you know you're playing one of the best goalies in the world, if not the best goalie in the world, so it's going to take some something a little uglier to beat him," van Riemsdyk said. "You just gotta stick with it. You can't get frustrated. We just kept trudging away."

After jumping off the bench on a line change in overtime, Svechnikov took a pass from Jordan Staal, skated down the right side and whipped the puck through Price's legs to end it.

"We're disappointed, we came here to win," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "We needed to protect the house and they ruined it pretty good there."

Curtis McElhinney stopped 28 shots for Carolina, which has won six of eight.

WATCH | 1st NHL game-winner broadcast in Plains Cree language:

Clarence Iron calls Svechnikov's game-winner in Plains Cree

6 years ago

Duration 0:40

Hear Clarence Iron's play-by-play call of Andrei Svechnikov's OT winner as they Carolina Hurricanes beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in the 1st NHL game to be called in the Plains Cree language

With the win, the Hurricanes remained alone in the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Montreal squandered a chance to move into a tie with Carolina with a win.

Paul Byron scored in the first period as Montreal had its three-game winning streak snapped.

The Canadiens had plenty of chances.

The Canadiens had other opportunities, too. Jeff Petry hit the post in the first period, and in the second, Tomas Tatar also hit a post. Jesperi Kotkaniemi had a breakaway denied by McElhinney and Nate Thompson's point-blank shot in the crease after a turnover was stuffed by McElhinney, as well.

"[McEhinney]just played an unbelievable game," Svechnikov said. "He kept us in that game, for sure."

"There's no nerves to his game and it settles our group down," Brind'Amour said. "You can't say enough good things. He went toe-to-toe with the best goalie in the world and he certainly didn't take a back seat."