Low-scoring defenceman Francis Bouillon was the unlikely hero Saturday at the Bell Centre, as he scored the winning goal – his first of the season - in overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Senators.
The Canadiens had scored three late goals, including one by David Desharnais with just one third of a second remaining on the clock to tie the Senators 4-4 in Montreal Saturday.
The game appeared to be out of reach at the Senators had a 4-1 lead with just over three minutes to play in the game, but Lars Eller scored his first goal in 24 games, his first since January 2 in Dallas, as he poked home a fat rebound off a Brian Gionta shot in the crease.
The Habs came to within one goal as Brian Gionta netted his 14th of the season by tipping a P.K. Subban shot past a crowd in the crease.
And Desharnais notched the score with under one second left as a puck squirted into the crease as the Canadiens had six skaters on the ice against the Senators four, with their fifth in the penalty box.
Up until then, Carey Price’s first NHL game since his Sochi Olympic efforts was not one to remember as the Senators scored four times to cruise to a 4-1 lead.
The teams went into the first intermission tied 1-1 with the Habs dominating play in the first period and outshooting the Senators 17-4 in the frame.
Daniel Briere scored his 12th goal of the season just 38 seconds after the puck dropped to give the Canadiens an early lead. Briere stripped the puck off a Senators’ forward and glided into the slot where he slid a low shot into the net.
But it would be the only puck the Canadiens would get by Ottawa netminder Robin Lehner until late in the third period.
Jason Spezza notched it up 1-1 with his 18th goal of the campaign with assists from Clarke Macarthur and Erik Karlsson just two and a half minutes later.
The Senators took the lead near the end of the second period as Zack Smith notched the go-ahead marker at even strength by putting the puck past Price on a pass from Karlsson. Ales Hemsky and Clarke Macarthur both scored within the first 5:08 of the third period to make the game appear out of reach.
But the Canadiens ratched up the pressure and went all-out near the end and suddenly saw some of their many chances finally start getting into the twine behind the Senators' netminder.
The Canadiens outshot the Senators 19-13 in the third period, part of a 48-34 advantage overall.
Coach Michel Therrien told a media scrum after the game that he had never given up hope.
""When I’m behind the bench I always believe we still have a chance to win no matter what," said Therrien. "When we scored that second goal and kept fighting, it showed character and that's the number one thing. What I’m hoping for is that a win like that can change a season."
Therrien praised Carey Price for keeping the Canadiens in the match while behind 4-1.
He also said that Price would not make the trip to Buffalo to play the Sabres, as he does not consider him ready yet to play back-to-back games.
P.K. Subban collected three assists on the night, while Gionta and Eller both had a goal and an assist each.
Bouillon said after the game that he's likely to rememeber his winning goal for a long time.
“It’s probably the most important goal of my career,” said Bouillon. “The puck was in the goalie’s pads and the referee could have whistled but he didn’t. The puck then came out and I got a golden opportunity.”
“It was a gong show,” said Price. “But in the end it's two important points for our team that we desperately needed. I hope we can can build on it.”
