Beau Bennett impressed with a goal and several scoring chances on a reimagined third line, but the Pittsburgh Penguins continued to look out of sync in the 2015–16 home opener against the Montreal Canadiens ultimately losing 3-2.
For a third consecutive game, the Penguins surrendered the first goal.
Six minutes in, Brendan Gallagher curled around the bottom of the circle to the right of Marc-Andre Fleury and found Max Pacioretty alone in the high slot. Pacioretty fired a quick shot through Tomas Plekanec and Kris Letang jostling in front of the net and past Fleury to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.
Carey Price and the Canadiens defense shutdown several quality scoring chances, notably a pass across the crease from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton call up Kevin Porter to Patric Hornqvist and a Sidney Crosby shot on a two on one with Chris Kunitz.
The Penguins looked better at the start of the second period, and after four shots and at least two scoring chances, Bennett finally beat Price with a heavy wrister from the top of the circle after picking up a loose puck in the defensive zone and speeding down the right side. Bennett looked comfortable on the right side after playing left wing against Dallas and Arizona.
The Bennett goal gave the Penguins some life, but a bench minor allowed the Canadiens to retake the lead near the halfway point of the period. Pacioretty scored again, sneaking off the half wall toward the net and beating Fleury cleanly on the low glove side.
Only 1:26 later, Kris Letang tied the game again, beating Price with a floater over the glove. Phil Kessel tracked down the puck in the corner to the right of Price and attempted to pass to Chris Kunitz at the goalmouth, but the puck ricocheted to a wide open Letang in the high slot.
After tying the game at 2-2 in the second, a mishandle by Letang led to the eventual winner for the Canadiens. After skating the puck from the bottom of the circle, Letang coughed up the puck after a collision with David Desharnais. Dale Wiess poked the loose puck to Desharnais streaking into the Penguins zone and Thomas Fleischmann opened up for a pass in the slot, burying the shot behind Fleury and giving the Canadiens a 3-2 lead.
Porter and Dumoulin stuck out for the Penguins, Porter creating a few scoring chances and Dumoulin looking confident skating with the puck and making passes, though still rushed the play at times. Rookie Daniel Sprong, on the other hand, looked lost at times and played a part in the bench minor, along with fellow rookie Sergei Plotnikov, leading to the Canadiens second goal.
Fleury bailed out the defense at times and finished with 27 saves, but failed to steal the game for the Penguins. Price finished with 31 saves.
The Penguins take on the Ottawa Senators at home on Thursday, still seeking the first win of the 2015–16 season and hoping to avoid a 0-4-0 start.
Photo credit: Getty Images
