NHL playoffs: Saskatoon Blades product Kirby Dach finds redemption after goal, assist in win over Lightning

Kirby Dach picked a fine time to demonstrate life can be less about where you’ve been and more about where you’re going.

Tuesday night, in Game 2 of the Montreal Canadiens’ first-round NHL playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Habs’ third line centre was vilified by home fans after making a pair of overtime mistakes that led to Tampa defenceman J.J. Moser’s game-winning goal.

Personal attacks online led him to delete his Instagram account as alleged fans called for an end to his playoffs, his time in Montreal and his life.

Friday the only noise he heard was that of Canadiens fans chanting his name at the Bell Centre as he assisted on the game’s opening goal, scored Montreal’s second, and made himself a pest in front of the Lightning net as teammate Lane Hutson blasted home the Habs’ own overtime winner to take a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead.

“You take Tuesday night and kind of maybe sit in it, dwell on it, and try to understand what you could have done better, but come Wednesday morning you gotta be able to move on and get ready for tonight’s game and that’s kind of where my mindset was,” Dach, the former Saskatoon Blade, told reporters after the game. “And

I think as a competitor and anybody you want to be able to bounce back and put your best foot forward.”

Former Moose Jaw Warrior Brayden Point scored a power play goal for the Lightning to tie the game 1-1 and teammate Brandon Hagel, born in Saskatoon but raised in Alberta, had Tampa’s second of the game.

Game 4 goes Sunday at 4 p.m. in Montreal.

Knights drop first-ever NHL playoff game in Utah

It was a less-successful day at the office for former Moose Jaw Warriors forward Brett Howden, Yorkton product Kaeden Korczak and Davidson’s Brayden McNabb, as their Golden Knights lost 4-2 to the Utah Mammoth.

The game marked the first NHL playoff game ever played in Utah, and also gave the Mammoth a 2-1 series lead.

McNabb was minus-2 in 17:15 of ice time, while Howden was credited with three shots and three hits in his 14:20, and Korczak recorded a plus-2 defensive rating, one shot and three hits in 14:03.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday in Salt Lake City.

Two assists for Draisaitl

The Edmonton Oilers would also be unlikely to complain about a do-over on Friday’s events as they turned a 3-2 lead at the game’s midpoint into a 7-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, thanks in part to a strategic reliance on costly turnovers and loose defensive zone play.

Prince Albert Raiders alumnus Leon Draisaitl was among Edmonton’s most reliable players, assisting on two goals and finishing with a relatively-modest minus-1 rating while playing the second-most ice time of any Oilers forward.

Former Saskatoon Blades forward Colton Dach was also minus-1 in, with a shot on goal, two hits, and some cathartic post-game fisticuffs behind the Anaheim net.

Matt Savoie, the former Moose Jaw Warrior, spent several shifts on the top line with captain Connor McDavid and finished minus-2 with one shot on goal.

And goalie Connor Ingram, who hails from Imperial, allowed six goals on 38 shots as the Ducks took a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Anaheim.