Canadiens 'confident in what we can do' heading home for Game 3 with East Final even

RALEIGH, N.C. -- There is no hiding from the obvious truth that the Montreal Canadiens were not as good in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final as they were in Game 1. 

"Our execution just wasn't good enough," Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson said.

The Canadiens weren't able to make the same plays they did Thursday. They didn't get through the neutral zone with speed so they couldn't play with much pace. They couldn't break down the Carolina Hurricanes' pressure to create consistent breakaways and odd-man rushes. 

They were outshot 26-12, minus-30 in total shot attempts (68-38 in favor of Carolina), 0-for-2 without a shot on goal on the power play, and they lost, 3-2 in overtime, at Lenovo Center on Saturday.

"It was tough to generate," forward Josh Anderson, who scored both Montreal goals, said. "They pressured hard. They played really well. They defended hard."

But even still, the score is why the Canadiens are certain that they have a handle on the Hurricanes as the best-of-7 series, tied 1-1, shifts to Montreal for Game 3 at Bell Centre on Monday.

Through everything Saturday night -- the Hurricanes pressure, the Canadiens' inability to generate speed, the lack of pucks and bodies they got to the net, the ice seemingly tilted against them -- they were still one shot away from leaving here up 2-0 in the series.

That alone fuels their belief, not to mention the road split to start the series.

"Yeah, we're confident for sure," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. "We're still really confident in what we can do and excited to get back home."

The Canadiens don't even have to make too many tweaks to be better in Game 3. They did that already, in the second intermission Saturday.

They were down 2-1 with five shots on goal and 19 total shot attempts through 40 minutes. They weren't getting caved in by the Hurricanes, who had 15 shots and 40 attempts, but the Canadiens' inability to make a play through the neutral zone was killing them.

So, they discussed it during the intermission.

"I think we cleared up a few things over the second intermission and talked about what we're going to change, what we were going to do differently," Anderson said.

They talked about opening up more in the neutral zone with the hope that it would create more time and space coming across the blue line, Anderson explained. They wanted to hold onto the puck for longer, skate with it instead of allowing Carolina's pressure to force it on and off their sticks.

It worked.

They had seven shots on goal and 19 shot attempts in the third period. Anderson scored a greasy goal, his second of the game, off a netfront scramble at 12:51 to tie it 2-2.

"I feel like we executed better," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "We were able to skate with the puck with more ice, which allowed our 'D's' to come too. Usually, when we do that, it translates to probably more O-zone time, more offense. They play on top of you. It's hard to go 200 feet and produce offense unless you execute a little bit through that pressure."

The tactical changes in the third period are repeatable, more so, in fact, than how the Canadiens won Game 1, when really it was the Hurricanes who were all out of sorts and the visitors simply took advantage of the time and space they were given to win 6-2.

"It was definitely better in the third and we'll look to carry that into the third game," Matheson said.

If only they could have carried it into overtime, maybe then this would be a completely different story, one about Montreal's resiliency and ability to come back and, once again, just like Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round, win a game when they didn't generate many chances.

But that did not happen. 

Overtime looked more like the first and second periods. Nikolaj Ehlers ended it with his second goal of the game at 3:29.

"We couldn't get the puck in deep in their zone and they kept transitioning," Suzuki said. "I feel all four lines had the same shift and they were able to score."

That goes back to the obvious and unbiased truth of Game 2, that the Canadiens simply just were not as good as they were in Game 1, and, on the other side of the puck, the Hurricanes were much better than they were in Game 1.

But it's still a 1-1 series, with the Canadiens going home recognizing they were one shot away from it being 2-0 in their favor, knowing they've already made the necessary tactical changes, addressed the issues that led to their limited offense, and don't seem hurt too badly about losing in overtime.

Now, though, they have to figure out how to execute a good game at home.

The Canadiens are 2-4 at Bell Centre in the playoffs and haven't played there since losing 8-3 to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on May 16.

"Can't wait to get back in front of our fans," Suzuki said. "I know they're definitely amped up to see us back. We've got to take care of home ice. It's great to get a split on the road here."