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 With Montreal defenseman Tom Gilbert off for interference, center
Henrik Sedin sent his twin brother Daniel in alone behind the
Montreal defense. Left winger Daniel Sedin beat Canadiens goaltender
Carey Price with a high shot over the blocker with 2:15 remaining in
overtime.
The Canucks almost let the win slip through their fingers after
blowing a 2-0, third-period lead.
"You should not give up a 2-0 lead at home," said Daniel Sedin, who
scored his third goal of the season. "It happens.
"We stuck with our game plan, no panic, nothing. We stayed with our
game plan, and it paid off."
It was a disappointing end for an exciting comeback by the
Canadiens. Left winger Max Pacioretty tied the game with 2:33 left
in the third with a blast over Vancouver goaltender Ryan Miller's
glove.
Center Alex Galchenyuk started the rally when he deflected a shot
from defenseman P.K. Subban past Miller at 12:11 of the third.
 "I thought we showed a lot of character battling back," Subban said.
"We had our chances. The puck just didn't go in for us."
The Canadiens had a lot of jump early, using their speed and size to
control much of the scoreless first period. Miller proved the
difference, making several key saves to keep the Canucks in the
game.
"He is so calm," Daniel Sedin said about the Vancouver goaltender,
who was named the game's first star after blocking 23 shots.
Although not known as a physical player, Daniel Sedin had several
confrontations with Subban during the game.
"That was my bad," he said. "That is part of his game. He gets
better when he gets involved like that. I should have stayed away
from that."
The Canadiens were angry Vancouver's first goal came seconds after
Canucks right winger Alex Burrows appeared to hit Montreal
defenseman Alexei Emelin with a late, high hit. Emelin crumpled to
the ice, but the play continued.
Montreal coach Michel Therrien called the play "a dirty hit to the
head."
"Instead of having a power play of five minutes, the puck is in your
own net," he said.
Right winger Brad Richardson, with his third goal in two games, and
center Nick Bonino scored the other goals for Vancouver (7-3-0).
The Canadiens' power play continued to struggle on the road.
Montreal (8-2-1) failed to score on three man-advantages, leaving
its power play 0-for-25 on the road.
Daniel Sedin said the Canadiens were able to capitalize on a couple
Vancouver errors.
"For at least 40 minutes, we played really well," he said. "They are
going to push when they are down and get some chances.
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"We gave them two or three chances, and they scored."
Defenseman Kevin Bieksa said the Canucks were confident after
regulation.
"Getting into overtime, we were in good shape," he said. "We are a
good team four-on-four. We have a lot of combinations we can throw
at you.
"I didn't see the penalty, but you get a power play in overtime, and
a lot of times that is going to be the end of it. We made them pay.
We were resilient."
The win was the third in a row for the Canucks and fourth in five
games.
Henrik Sedin believes there is still room for improvement.
"We had a lot of guys stepping up," he said. "I think our line can
play better.
"We rolled the lines, we're fresh and we're playing good
defensively. We should have won this game after 60 minutes. I think
overall, if you look top to bottom, it was one of our better efforts
for sure."
The Canadiens collected three of six points on a three-game western
swing.
"Full marks for our guys for coming back," Montreal right winger
Dale Weise said. "We got a point out of this. It's not an easy place
to win. I really liked our game tonight."
NOTES: The Canucks assigned D Frank Corrado to AHL Utica. ...
Canucks D Yannick Weber and LW Chris Higgins are former Canadiens.
Montreal RW Dale Weise and C Manny Malhotra are former Canucks. ...
Vancouver's Ryan Miller is one of 30 NHL goaltenders with 300 or
more wins. ... Canucks RW Jannik Hansen is one game short of 400 in
the NHL. ... Even in the warmups, there were "go Habs go" cheers at
Rogers Arena. ... D P.K. Subban played in his 135th consecutive
game, the Canadiens' longest active streak. ... The Canadiens ended
a three-game western trip that saw them lose in Edmonton and win in
Calgary. They return home to play the Flames on Sunday. ... The
Canucks play the Oilers in Edmonton on Saturday.
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reserved.]
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