Carbonneau: Team Effort Key for Canadiens

It figured that Guy Carbonneau was involved in the play that gave the Montreal Canadiens a chance to beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3, in overtime Saturday night in the Game 3 of Stanley Cup finals. The win gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead in the series, with Game 4 on Monday night.

With 12.9 seconds left in regulation time, a wrap-around shot by the Kings’ Tomas Sandstrom hit Carbonneau’s body in the crease and was smothered. Thirty-four seconds into overtime, John LeClair’s goal gave the Canadiens their NHL-record ninth straight OT win.

“I was cross-checked by (Warren) Rychel,” Carbonneau said when asked why he was face-down in the crease. “I never saw the puck. The puck hit me. I didn’t even know why they (the Kings) were yelling at the referee.”

The Kings argued in vain with referee Terry Gregson that they deserved a penalty shot. But Canadiens Coach Jacques Demers said, “If you cross-check a player into the crease and they shoot the puck into him, that’s not a penalty.”

Carbonneau had his second good game matched against Wayne Gretzky. He held Gretzky to one shot on goal and no points in Game 2. Gretzky had one assist in Game 3 while Carbonneau was on the ice and got a goal when he was on the bench.

Carbonneau, 32, said, “I sacrificed my career offensively 11 years ago. It’s working well. This is probably the most talented team offensively that I’ve been on. But the reason we’re winning is that everyone is sacrificing a little bit of themselves. We don’t play individually. Every time we do, we get in trouble. We saw that in the second period.”

The Kings rebounded from a 3-0 deficit with second-period goals from Luc Robitaille, Tony Granato and Gretzky. But the Canadiens found their defensive stride again in the third period and were helped when the Kings’ Jari Kurri and Robitaille blew good scoring chances.

Of his strategy against Gretzky, Carbonneau said, “I just try to be in the right place at the right time and don’t give him a chance to set up. He’s not the fastest skater but he uses his wingers and defensemen very well. If you rush him, don’t give his wingers and defensemen time to join the play, he’s got to get rid of the puck a little quicker.

“We’ve always been good defensively (and) having a guy like Patrick Roy in goal, that’s a good start. We block a lot of shots. That takes sacrificing.”