Although it was only their second game since the resumption of the season, Monday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens had a distinct “must-win” feeling to it for the fifth seeds in black and gold. On paper, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan appeared to trust the process, icing the same lineup as Game 1. In reality, he was planning several key moves in an attempt to wrest the momentum — and perhaps the series — away from the upstart Canadiens early on.
First, Sullivan wanted to surpass the Penguins’ first period from Game 1, where they outshot the Canadiens 18-6 but found themselves trailing at the intermission thanks to Jesperi Kotkaniemi.