Music: {allcanada} Jets eliminated, fall to Canadiens 4-2

Thursday, April 25, 2013

{allcanada} Jets eliminated, fall to Canadiens 4-2

WINNIPEG -- The Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets staged a physical brand of hockey Thursday night at MTS Centre, and they could be excused if they glimpsed at the out-of-town scoreboard after their post-whistle scrums over the opening two periods.

But by the end of the second intermission of what would become a 4-2 Montreal win, only the Canadiens still needed to steal glances at the scoreboard. Overtime wins for the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators eliminated the Jets from Stanley Cup Playoff contention, extending the franchise's postseason drought to six seasons.

Montreal is chasing the Boston Bruins for the Northeast Division title, and the clubs started the night each with 59 points. The Canadiens, sitting third in the Eastern Conference when they arrived here, were mired in an April slump in which they picked up a win in four of their past 10 games.

Boston claimed a 2-0 home victory from the Tampa Bay Lightning that will leave it and Montreal tied at 61 points heading into Saturday. The Bruins own one game in hand on the Canadiens, who end their season on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston will end its season Sunday evening at home against Ottawa.

For the ninth-place Jets, their regular-season finale saw them clinging to the faintest playoff hope in a bid for the organization to reach the postseason for the first time since 2007 (when it was the Atlanta Thrashers). The Jets faced a must-win game against the Canadiens to have any chance at qualification and needed considerable scoreboard help in if they were to shove either the Rangers or Senators out of a spot.

But the Rangers pulled off a come-from-behind 4-3 road win in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Senators took a 2-1 overtime decision at the Washington Capitals.

Winnipeg's 6-2-1 finish could not overcome the five-game losing streak that preceded it as well as a pair of back-to-back home losses to the Capitals in March that allowed Washington to storm back into contention.

A few minutes after the Senators and Rangers completed the Jets' elimination, Montreal ended Winnipeg's hopes for a season-ending win with three third-period goals, including a pair from David Desharnais.

Brendan Gallagher's goal 2:07 into the third period erased a 2-1 Winnipeg lead. Gallagher broke across the blue line and unleashed a heavy right-side shot that glanced off goaltender Ondrej Pavelec's glove and across the line.

Desharnais finished off the Jets, smacking home a rebound on a power play with 12:01 remaining. Max Pacioretty whipped a high shot Pavelec misplayed, allowing Desharnais to poke in the rebound with 9:01 left.

Winnipeg managed six shots through the opening 30 minutes, but James Wright started the scoring 9:10 into the game. Pavelec closed out Winnipeg's regular-season with his 13th consecutive start and 26 saves.

Montreal's Rene Bourque countered Wright with a second-period goal before Blake Wheeler took back Winnipeg's one-goal lead late in the period.

Carey Price, whose April numbers before the game were 3-7-0 with a 3.67 goals-against average and an .872 save percentage, rallied against the Jets. Price denied Wheeler's first-period breakaway, stopped Wright's drive to the net a few minutes later, and gloved Wheeler's second breakaway shortly after Montreal tied the game 1-1.

Wright capitalized on a miscue between Price and rookie defenseman Jarred Tinordi that resulted in a turnover in the right corner. Chris Thorburn retrieved the loose puck before directing a pass into the left circle that Wright steered into the net over Price's glove.

The Canadiens remained scoreless until the middle of the second period when Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller outworked the Jets in front of Pavelec. The rebound worked its way out to Bourque at the right of the net, where he jammed it through a pile of players at 9:54.

The Jets countered Bourque's goal with Wheeler's fifth in his past eight games. He broke through the Montreal defense in front of Price after the rebound of a Dustin Byfuglien shot and stabbed the puck through Price's legs at 14:43.