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Habs Out-Skill Colorado, Continue Impressive Start to the Season |
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Saturday night was an exhibition of skill, with the Canadiens edging the Colorado Avalanche 3-2, led by P.K. Subban and Alex Galchenyuk.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
You don't expect to see the Canadiens out-dueling the high-flying Avs in the skill department, but they did, and that was on top of seizing a large advantage in control of play.
Early penalty trouble put Montreal in the hole in this one, but they took over the game after Colorado took a 1-0 lead on a beautiful give and go between Alex Tanguay and John Mitchell. The Canadiens out-shot the Avalanche 17-11 in the opening frame.
Rookie Calvin Pickard acquitted himself quite finely, taking the Avalanche to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Pickard was left to the wolves on the three that got by him in the second. There was no stopping Subban's bomb on the powerplay, and the two goals out of the penalty box were virtually unstoppable.
Matt Duchene tipped a puck through Carey Price with 2:31 remaining in the third, and with Colorado's net empty. Price came up with the goods on Jamie McGinn shortly after, and the Canadiens improved to 5-1 on their season with what they considered to be their most complete game.
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1) Believe it or not, for the first time in six games, the Canadiens finished under 50% in the dot, and by under 50%, I mean they finished at 49%.
66.3% That's Manny Malholtra's number on the season. He hasn't had a game under 57%.
Tell me there's not a direct correlation between that number and this one: 7; that's Tomas Plekanec's point total.
2) Hey Carey Price, what goes through your mind when the game is tight and Malholtra comes on for a defensive zone draw? "Confidence."
"He's going to win it, and we're not going to have to scramble with the other team having a 6-on-5 advantage."
"It's a big plus," said Michel Therrien after Saturday's game. "He wins many faceoffs. And he takes a lot of pride about being a good faceoff man."
"You have to take pride in your job," Maholtra said. "I know my role, and when the coach trusts in you to be the guy at the end of the game, I take a lot of pride in that."
3) Alex Galchenyuk has two goals and four assists through six games. Will he cool off, or is he on the type of pace you expect from him this year?
"He's going to be a superstar in this league," said Subban after the game. "His confidence is way up this year, and he's starting to do things that you expect to see with that skill level."
"He's got all the tools," affirms Price.
Michel Therrien put it this way:
"He's got some great hands. He can make plays at a high level with a lot of speed. His understanding about the game is a lot better than when he was 18 and 19 years old. There's still work to do with him. He's a young man. But he's got great abilities."
We all agree, this kid is only getting better.
4) If the original thought was to give P.A Parenteau his best chance at success by placing him on the top line with Pacioretty and David Desharnais, boy must he be happy it didn't work out.
Tell me he's not playing on the top line with Plekanec and Galchenyuk. Tell me he's not loving life right now with these two. Tell me he doesn't fit in real well with them.
Parenteau needs to play with skilled players, and there's no doubt he's making the best of this opportunity. The chemistry is building.
5) Michael Bournival was recalled from his conditioning stint with the Bulldogs, and I'd strongly suspect that he'll be in the lineup when the Canadiens welcome the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. The question is, whose spot will he take?
I think there's a good chance it might be Jiri Sekac's, and that's no indictment of how Sekac has played. Sekac was back down to 8:19 against Colorado.
Unheralded, Brandon Prust is playing great hockey, and had his best game against Colorado.
You could pull Travis Moen for Bournival. But is Dale Weise going to sit for much longer?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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