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About Last Night: Habs win 6-3 with front office in flux

Jake Allen made 47 saves in a 6-3 win for his club over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

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It was a busy night both on and off the ice for the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

While Jake Allen made 47 saves in a 6-3 win for his club over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, the Habs announced assistant general manager Scott Mellanby had resigned from his post.

The Canadiens may not have planned to make such an announcement during the middle of a game, but they were given little choice: rumours about the Canadiens talking to former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton were making the rounds, signalling management changes are afoot. Here’s what the insiders were saying on Twitter:

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There was still a game to be played, and it was an exciting one. Don’t let the score fool you: the Canadiens scored three empty-netters to skew what was in reality a much closer game. Chris Wideman was scratched with an upper body injury, bringing Michael Pezzetta back to the lineup. Casey DeSmith got a rare start in goal in place of Tristan Jarry for Pittsburgh.

The game was scoreless after the first period. After allowing a shorthanded goal during a four-minute power play against the Sabres on Friday, the Habs once again received a four-minute man-advantage after Dominik Simon drew blood from a high-stick on Brendan Gallagher. They didn’t score, but they didn’t allow a shorty.

Josh Anderson was a factor with his speed and physical play in the first, which continued throughout the night. In the second, the Habs finally broke the scoreless tie at 15:34 when Jonathan Drouin on a breakaway slipped a backhand under DeSmith.

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Soon after, Simon nearly tied the game when his shot squeezed through Allen and dribbled towards the net, but Mattias Norlinder was able to intercept the puck as it neared the goal line.

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The Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Evan Rodrigues line was dominant all night, placing 26 shots between the three of them. Rodrigues was the one to tie the game on the power play early in the third. Kristopher Letang kept the puck in the zone, allowing Crosby to connect with Rodrigues on a one-touch pass. The 1-1 equalizer was one of Rodrigues’ 12 shots on the night.

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The Habs regained the lead 32 seconds later. Anderson battled his way through two defenders with the puck before a pinching Sami Niku found Christian Dvorak wide open in front. Dvorak’s goal made it 2-1.

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The Penguins nearly capped off the wild sequence with another tying goal, only this time Allen robbed Rodrigues off the draw with a glove save.

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The Habs then took a 3-1 lead. Norlinder sent a puck on net with three Habs waiting in front for a rebound. After bouncing around en route, the puck landed on Lehkonen’s stick and then the back of the net, giving the Finn his third goal in four games. Norlinder got his first NHL point.

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The Penguins didn’t quit with time winding down. Anderson continued his gutsy display with a key shot block. After the Habs failed to clear, Jeff Carter reduced Montreal’s lead to 3-2 with DeSmith pulled.

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After Anderson scored an insurance marker in an empty net, the Penguins returned volley, this time Crosby on a one-timer. It was 4-3 Habs.

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That was as close as the Penguins got. Anderson scored another empty netter (awarded automatically after Letang tripped him on a break) and Toffoli got one of his own for a 6-3 final score. It’s not trading Mike Cammalleri in the middle of a game bad, but having to release a statement about a resignation in the front office was an unfortunate distraction on a night where the Canadiens won. Allen and Anderson were integral in getting Montreal to come out on top.

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  1. Canadiens assistant general manager Scott Mellanby has resigned, the team announced on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021.
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    Canadiens turn tables on Penguins with convincing 6-3 win

The Liveblog commenters got two soap operas for the price of one on Saturday. How fun is that after the season they’ve endured?

3. “Dvorak will settle in just fine. And if this team does begin a rebuild he will be a valuable piece and a fine trade chip in 2 or 3 years. Worth the cost in draft picks, when all is said and done.” -Curtis Ault
2. “The boys were just waiting for Scott Mellanby to resign.” -Sami Mazloum
1. “That was a fun game to watch!! let’s hope there are many more to follow… no self respecting team should be tanking! go Habs go!” -Haari Meech
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