Martin St. Louis said the Canadiens weren’t given a fair chance after Kirill Kaprizov scored on a power play following a late broken-stick slashing call in overtime.
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Martin St. Louis said he was proud of his team’s effort after the Montreal Canadiens fell 2-1 in overtime to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
St. Louis’ frustration centered on the late sequence involving Minnesota defenceman Quinn Hughes’ stick breaking as the Canadiens were pressuring him near the end boards with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
The blade broke from the shaft of Hughes’ stick as Canadiens winger Cole Caufield pressured him, and referee Justin Kea raised his arm to call a penalty. Minnesota then went to a power play, and Kirill Kaprizov scored on a one-timer 21 seconds into overtime for his 17th goal of the season.
“I thought he sold it,” St. Louis said. “I thought he created the broken stick, if you watch it.”
St. Louis said the game otherwise matched his expectations, noting both teams defended hard and had stretches in each other’s zone, but that Montreal was left with the disappointment of not getting the two points.
Canadiens defenceman Kaiden Guhle said it was frustrating that the broken stick and a questionable call occurred in such a crucial moment.
Guhle said sometimes sticks are “basically broken before” during stick battles, and called the situation “frustrating” and “definitely not an ideal scenario for us.”
Veteran centre Phillip Danault said the timing made the call “touchy,” adding that it happened quickly and was therefore difficult to blame.
Montreal had concerns about officiating beyond the Hughes sequence as well. Josh Anderson pointed to the Canadiens’ season totals, saying Montreal ranks second in the league with 85 minor penalties and has the NHL’s worst net penalty differential at minus-18.
Anderson also referenced a Saturday game in which defenceman Arber Xhekaj was the only player penalized during a third-period scrum in Montreal’s 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the scoring, Bobby Brink broke a scoreless stretch after two periods for Minnesota by beating Jacob Fowler glove side on a breakaway 2:53 into the third. St. Louis said the play reflected a bad bounce early in Minnesota’s goal and a long shift by the Canadiens in the Wild’s zone before Minnesota capitalized.
After the late-game controversy, Fowler and Jesper Wallstedt combined for key saves earlier in the night, with Fowler stopping 27 shots and Wallstedt making 22.
Before puck drop, Carey Price was inducted into the Canadiens’ ring of honour and received nearly four minutes of ovations with “Ca-rey! Ca-rey!” and “Olé, Olé” chants.
Brink’s third-period goal held up until Kaprizov’s power-play winner in overtime ended the match 2-1 for Minnesota.
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