Canadiens Sink Penguins 3-2 In OT

The Pittsburgh Penguins had every opportunity -- even a penalty shot -- to knock off Montreal in overtime. In the playoffs, at least, that simply doesn't happen.

Benoit Brunet caught Pittsburgh in a line change to beat Tom Barrasso from the top of the left circle at 18:43 of overtime, lifting Montreal past the Penguins 3-2 in their Eastern Conference playoff opener Thursday night.

The seventh-seeded Canadiens, still looking for their first playoff series victory since they last won the Stanley Cup in 1993, won their 14th consecutive overtime playoff game.

"That's pretty amazing, 14 in a row," forward Vincent Damphousse said. "I knew about that. ... That's why we felt pretty good going into overtime."

They probably didn't feel so good when Penguins rookie Alexei Morozov had a chance to win it just 1:44 into the extra period. But his backhander on a penalty shot -- a rarity in NHL overtime playoff hockey -- clanged off the right goalpost.

"He went to his backhand and the puck kind of turned over on him," said goaltender Andy Moog, who stopped 34 shots."I never got a pad on it, but those things happen."

Defenseman Patrice Brisebois intentionally knocked the net off its moorings just as Moog turned away Martin Straka's shot, resulting in the penalty shot.

Still, the second-seeded Penguins wouldn't blame their rookie forward for the loss -- their seventh in their last nine playoff series openers.

"The kid made a great move and got a backhander over his pads, but it hit the post," center Ron Francis said."But we still had a chance to win the hockey game."

Both teams had ample scoring chances after that, but it took Brunet's breakout off Vladimir Malakhov's pass to win it.

"I got a great pass on the wide side," Brunet said. "I had some ice and took advantage of it. I just wanted to hit the net. I didn't even really look at where I shot it. I shot it as hard as I can and it went in."

Pittsburgh had rallied to tie it with only 1:38 remaining in the third period as Stu Barnes got his stick on Jiri Slegr's shot from a crowded crease after Jaromir Jagr grabbed the puck off a faceoff.

"It's a tough way to lose, but all you can do is put it behind you and try to get better the rest of the series," Barnes said."The series is more than one game, and you try to learn from each one."

Before that, Montreal shook off Pittsburgh defenseman Brad Werenka's shorthanded goal at 7:21 of the second period to lead 1-0 and 2-1 and dictate the predictably conservative tempo.

The Canadiens haven't won a playoff series in five years, and the pressure has grown in Montreal ever since. First-year coach Alain Vigneault even sequestered the Canadiens 40 miles away from Montreal for their first two pre-playoff practices this week, closing the first 40 minutes each day to the media.

Maybe it was the unusual sight of empty seats in the Civic Arena, rarity during the Mario Lemieux era, but Montreal seized the early momentum -- and lead -- by outshooting Pittsburgh 14-5 in the first period.

Playing without injured center Saku Koivu (broken hand), who will miss at least one more game, Montreal showed an unusual look by often playing three defensemen and only two forwards against Pittsburgh's top line of Jaromir Jagr, Francis and Barnes.

"It was different, and you don't see that very often, but I thought both teams played well," Barnes said.

Martin Rucinsky gave Montreal a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 12:15 of the first, jumping on a rebound of Damphousse's missed shot in the slot and stuffing it by Barrasso, who stopped 37 of 40 shots.

The Penguins tied it with one of their unlikeliest goals of the season: Werenka's shorthanded breakaway just nine seconds after Montreal failed to score during a two-man advantage lasting 1:12.

Werenka left the penalty box just ahead of a 3-on-1 rush on Malakhov. He took Slegr's lead pass, skated in unobstructed from the blue line and punched the puck past Moog to the stick side.

The Canadiens answered with an improbable goal of their own: Peter Popovic's first goal in 16 playoff games at 16:44, a slap shot from the left point past Barrasso, who had lost his stick in a collision with Damphousse. Brunet would later score from nearly the identical spot.

"This series is going to be like this all the way through," the Canadiens' Mark Recchi said.

The teams are meeting in the playoffs for the first time in their 31-year rivalry, even though they spent several seasons in the same division.

The crowd of 14,692 was 2,262 under capacity, and the Penguins announced repeatedly that ample seats remain for their three possible remaining home games in the series.

It was Pittsburgh's first overtime playoff game since Petr Nedved's game winner decided their four-overtime thriller against Washington in 1996.

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