‘I don’t know what to say’: Hockey world explodes over wild Canucks, Canadiens game

The saying ‘save the best for last’ rang absurdly true for the NHL on Monday night.

After a 7:30 p.m. PT puck drop, the Vancouver Canucks went down 4-0 against the Montreal Canadiens before the first period ended, leaving most fans on the West Coast wondering if this game was nothing more than a write-off while giving fans in Montreal a reason to go to sleep happy.

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Then during the final five minutes of the second period, the home-team Canucks scored a pair to give the fans a reason to cheer. But it wasn’t until the third period that the game took several wild turns.

What followed was 20 minutes of nothing short of chaos, where the Canucks scored three more goals, including the 5-4 go-ahead strike, to not only erase the four-goal deficit but also take the lead with an unassisted goal from Jack Studnicka.

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The chaos continued. Shortly after the Canucks took went up 5-4, the Canadiens scored two quick ones to re-take the lead with less than five minutes to go.

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As if the game couldn’t get more unbelievable, the Canucks tied it up once more on a late-game power play.

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It only took Canucks forward Elias Pettersson 13 seconds into overtime to score the game-winning goal after stripping the puck from Canadiens defender Mike Matheson — the most fitting ending to a truly eventful contest.

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One week after the Kraken beat the Kings 9-8 in OT, hockey fans who stayed up later were treated to another instant classic.

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