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When Jesperi Kotkaniemi showed up for his post-game video conference Saturday night at the Bell Centre he was wearing a hooded Canadiens jacket and a mask because of COVID-19.
When he took off the mask, he had a huge smile on his face.
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The same smile we saw so much during his rookie year two seasons ago, but not so much since.
Kotkaniemi had reason to smile after picking up an assist and finishing plus-2 in 13:59 of ice time, while also winning 13 of the 15 faceoffs he took in the Canadiens’ 7-1 rout over the Winnipeg Jets.
It wasn’t the same commanding effort on Thursday night as the Canadiens had put forth a few days earlier versus the Winnipeg Jets. Montreal was a bit too eager to get the puck moving up the ice, and the result was several mistakes that led to odd-man rushes, which had been quite rare for the team. Jake Allen was able to turn aside a few breakaways, but he couldn’t bail his teammates out of all their breakdowns, surrendering three goals in three periods.
The good news is the Canadiens put just enough pressure on Connor Hellebuyck to get back whatever they gave up, getting back on even terms following a two-goal deficit in the second period, and adding a late tying marker with Allen on the bench to force overtime.
The Winnipeg Jets took advantage of mistakes by the Canadiens to score three goals.
A turnover by captain Shea Weber early in the third period led to Paul Stastny’s second goal of the game, as the second-place Jets ran their season record against Montreal to 3-0. Winnipeg opened a five-point lead over the fourth-place Canadiens in the Canadian division. Montreal, which is now 0-4 in 3-on-3 play, continues to struggle at home with a 4-5-1 record.
Winnipeg led the Canadiens 10-9 in shots on goal in the first period, but those numbers didn’t reflect the play. Winnipeg had a big edge in possession and took advantage of some sloppy play to grab a 2-0 lead.