Montreal Canadiens 3 – Washington Capitals 2 (OT): The Script

The first chapter went to David. The Montreal Canadiens stunned Goliath, none other than the league’s best team overall: the Washington Capitals. A laser shot by Tomas Plekanec in the overtime gave the Habs a surprising 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Playoffs series.

Michael Cammalleri put Montreal ahead in the first with a snapshot, his first goal since returning from an injury, March 24. Joe Corvo evened things up with a wrister from the point, which Habs goalie, Jaroslav Halak, never saw. Washington took no advantage of his puck control and physical superiority in the first 20 minutes.

The Habs shook off the pressure and changed the formula for the second period, but the score didn’t change after 40. It was in the beginning of the third when Washington capitalized a Montreal turnover deep in their zone. Nicklas Backstrom took the gift and put it past Halak with a perfect wrist shot.

But seven minutes later, Scott Gomez broke the momentum of the host team with an amazing play he created behind his own net and finished in the other end after a great pass from Brian Gionta.

The overtime was up and down from one net to the other, but it was Plekanec who had the final word. Montreal took a huge step in the series by winning the first game on the road.

Now, here’s the Game’s Script:

The main characters:

The Hero: Tomas Plekanec

No. 14 stood in the perfect moment to silence the 18377 persons gathering at the Verizon Center. Plekanec collected 5 SOG, including a bullet past José Théodore for the win, a slapshot from the slot to the goalie’s stick side. The Czech won the first battle against the former Habs’ goalie after a week filled with crossing statements. The first round went to “Tomas Jagr.”

The Villain: Alexander Ovechkin

The 50-goals-a-season superstar, the one who led the league with 368 SOG in the regular season, couldn’t even put the puck between the pipes once. It was the second time in this season that he finished a game with a 0 in the SOG column. The Russian never found a shooting lane and he wasn’t a main actor in any of the four Caps power plays.

The Sidekid: Jaroslav Spacek

The 36-year-old defenseman played his best game with the Habs jersey since arriving to Montreal last summer. He accomplished his assignment by leaving no space for Ovechkin; he also put the cherry on top by assisting the winning goal. Spacek showed everyone he has the experience to be in the big dance.

The Extra: Mike Green

The young defenseman carried too much pressure on his shoulders, especially in terms of offense. He got caught backing up and failed to catch Gomez in the Canadiens’ second goal that killed the Caps momentum. He also made a mental mistake with 30 seconds left in regulation by taking a delay of game penalty that toughened Montreal offense into the overtime.

Key Moment in the plot: Scott Gomez goal

A beautiful run that started behind Montreal’s net. Gomez zigzagged between red jerseys, and after a triangulation which included Beniot Pouliot and Brian Gionta, the center pushed in the tying goal, a relatively quick response to Backstrom’s goal, killing the growing momentum for the Caps. The Habs gained a confidence they would use later in OT.

The quotes:

“I am happy to score that goal, but it doesn't matter who scores the goal in the playoffs. Stats don't matter." – Tomas Plekanec

 “He (Plekanec) did a good job of shooting against the grain. I was moving one way and he shot the other way. He's a skilled player, and it was a good shot." – José Théodore

"I'm 7-11, I'm always open" – Michael Cammalleri, on Plekanec not passing him the puck in the winning goal play.

“Right now we're mad and right now we're disappointed, but tomorrow is going to be a new day and it'll be a new game.” – Alexander Ovechkin.

All quotations from NHL.com game recap http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2009030111