The Canadiens did not want to let more points against a non-playoff opponent slip away from them, but that’s exactly what they would do.
It started off well for them, with Alex Galchenyuk almost making his move to the wing pay immediate dividends as he found himself with the puck facing an open net only to be robbed by the sprawling block of Hurricanes’ forward Derek Ryan.
Galchenyuk would get a second chance at glory a couple of shifts later. After Jordie Benn laid out Jaccob Slavin with a monstrous hit, Arturri Lehknonen made a quick transition and sent Andrew shaw in on a two-on-one with Galchenyuk who made no mistake potting it into a wide open net after receiving a perfect cross-crease pass from Shaw.