2024-01-01 03:40:00
Due to an injury to Christian Dvorak, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis opted for a formation with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
Johnathan Kovacevic made a notable return to the defensive brigade for this last match of 2023, which however ended in a 4-3 loss.
Kovacevic took the opportunity to score his fifth goal of the campaign during an unusual sequence. When almost everyone in the arena thought the game was stopped following a save by Samuel Montembeault, including opposing goaltender Jonas Johansson who was wandering in the corner of the ice, Kovacevic threw the puck in a deserted cage from its own zone.
The video review confirmed the goal, since the officials had not whistled to stop the game when Montembeault had possession of the disc, before passing it to number 26 in order to take advantage of this inattention. Even the lighting effects and the usual music between games had been triggered to add to this impression of a break in the utter confusion.
“The amphitheater was noisy. I saw Anderson who could break away, then I saw the goalkeeper leave his cage. I told myself I could try my luck. Unfortunately, I feel like this upset Tampa Bay and the fans. They used it to get back into the match,” Kovacevic said after the match. Same story for Martin St-Louis, who even described the atmosphere as “a series atmosphere”.
St-Louis also said he had never witnessed a goal like this before, and neither had Montembeault.
Fans at Amalie Arena in Florida were dismayed by this blunder and expressed it loudly.
CH, which then led 2-0 in the second period, also experienced a relaxation. Brayden Point reduced the lead to a single goal at 14:01 of the second period with a good wrist shot, then Austin Watson tied the game when his leaping pass fooled Montembeault.
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