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Price Being Price, Habs on Fire

October 27, 2014, 10:05 AM ET [835 Comments]
Habs Talk
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Waiting for the other shoe to drop?

You might have thought the Canadiens were due for a loss when the New York Rangers came in for a visit Saturday, but they managed one of their best performances of the season to extend their record to 7-1, making this the best start they've had since 1961-62.

Dale Weise had suggested before the game that this was just another date on the calendar, with no emphasis on the loss to the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final months ago, but Carey Price confirmed that this one meant a little bit more to them in his post-game remarks to the crowd at the Bell Centre, immediately following the Canadiens 3-1 victory.

Price was otherworldly, and in other words, just his regular self in this one. His save on Derick Brassard in the second period was an indication that he wasn't going to get beaten after Carl Hagelin potted an unmissable rebound in the first period.



The Habs were full value, starting the night with a breathtaking 2-on-0, shorthanded goal by Tomas Plekanec before finishing the Rangers off with a couple of strikes care of Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty.

Weise did his part with two assists, leveling Rangers defenseman John Moore at the beginning of the game to help set the tone for his team. It was Moore who injured Weise in the playoffs last year.

With that, the Habs packed their bags for a Western swing that'll bring them through Edmonton and Calgary, Monday and Tuesday, respectively, before arriving in Vancouver to take on the Canucks Thursday.

Will the other shoe drop?
*******************

1) Eight games in, and I'm not too sure Andrei Markov's been mentioned in this space very much.

Markov's 24:55 average leads P.K. Subban by 31 seconds. He and Tom Gilbert are certainly sharing the burden of tough defensive match ups with Subban and Emelin.

I don't put a lot of stock into +/-, but Markov's +7 is a valid indication of the stability in his game right now.

As always, what you notice most about Markov is his ability to control the game. His vision is unbelievable, and his anticipation and sense for where the play is going is even better.

Vision; that's the turnaround stretch pass he made to Max Pacioretty in Saturday's game.

Anticipation and sense; that's stepping up on Pavel Datsyuk in the neutral zone as soon as the puck hit his stick in Tuesday's game, and putting him on the ice to take away a 3-on-2 situation.

Markov's playing elite hockey, and that's a big part of why Gilbert's starting to shine more and more, and it's a huge part of why the Canadiens are playing so well right now.

2) Speaking of elite, there's Carey Price, being himself. This week was the best example of that.

Jimmy Howard was unreal on Tuesday. He really was. He got beat by two plays that no one would've stopped. And the ones he did stop...

You could say the same of Henrik Lundqvist on Saturday. Nobody's stopping those pucks. If not for Lundqvist in that second period, the Rangers go home with a 6-1 loss.

For Price to beat both of those guys, playing their very best, helps validate the commentary that places him a level above everyone else. Hours after Saturday's game, P.K. Subban was reminding the guys at L'Antichambre that Price is the best in the world.

3) When your team is healthy, when they're deep, you don't much leeway if you're not pulling your weight. I'm talking about Lars Eller, who started this season off by missing most of training camp with a lower-body injury.

Ahead of Saturday's game, Therrien said the following:
You should not make the mistake of relying on plus-minus. We don't


That was in reference to Eller's -6 headed into Saturday's contest.

Eller's play over the last four games has been markedly better than what he offered over the first four (by the way, he was -3 in that 7-1 laugher against Tampa). Maybe he's caught up to NHL speed after all that critical time missed in preseason.

4) Don't know much about the guy who replaced Gerard Gallant? Here's some insight on Dan Lacroix from his former boss, Alain Vigneault, who sat down with Francois Gagnon of RDS.

5) As great as Price has been over the past week, the defense in front of him is doing a spectacular job.

Subban and Emelin have worked out pretty well as a pair so far.

Markov and Gilbert move the puck so efficiently, it's hard to hem them into the zone.

Therrien seems to have found something worthwhile between Weaver and Tinordi, but you can't help but wonder if he'll use the back-to-back Monday and Tuesday to work Nathan Beaulieu back into the mix. And maybe the move--this time--is to put Beaulieu in with Tinordi, and give Weaver a rest.

6) One way to bring Jiri Sekac back into the fold, or give Michael Bournival his first game; scratch Rene Bourque in Edmonton. Bourque isn't playing bad, but he's far from playing his best. A little wakeup call before the Habs face his former team in Calgary could be a worthwhile investment for Therrien.

As for Bournival, he deserves a look, whether it's in Bourque's spot or someone else's (Travis Moen--not that he's done anything to deserve being pulled).

Would be interesting to watch Sekac play a game at left wing with Eller and Weise, who have both picked up their games recently.

7) Do you start Tokarski in Edmonton or in Calgary?

I'll tell you what I'd do. I ride Price in Edmonton, especially after what he gave on Saturday against New York. I play Price in Edmonton because I'm definitely playing Price in Vancouver.

So, Tokarski in Calgary, where the Canadiens have struggled mightily over the years; where Bob Hartley has the Flames playing inspired hockey.

8) Speaking of inspired, the Edmonton Oilers have managed to win three games in a row. I've watched all three of them, so allow this little bit of insight:

Their top line is flying right now, and they play an extremely aggressive style, especially when they don't have the puck. The Oilers are all about transition. They haven't gotten much outside of that top line over these three games (Jesse Joensuu, Nikita Nikitin, Leon Draisaitl, Matt Hendricks and Justin Schultz contributed markers) and they've had leads in the third period in all three of them, sitting back and relying on Ben Scrivens to seal the deal.

It's odd to watch the Oilers dumping pucks and circling back to the neutral zone on a one-goal lead, but they appear so desperate to stop making so many defensive mistakes. Confidence is building there, but without the secondary push (looking at Mark Arcobello, Benoit Pouiliot, Nail Yakupov, David Perron, Teddy Purcell--combined for 4 goals through 8 games), there's no chance they can sustain.

9) Alex Galchenyuk was held off the scoresheet for the second time all season on Saturday. He and P.A. Parenteau had some golden opportunities, but couldn't cash.

I'd say watch out for these two tonight.

10) Last note, but certainly not least: The pregame ceremony Saturday, in conjunction with Ottawa and Toronto, was unforgettable. The two soldiers that lost their lives last week--Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vicent--were honored in a magnificent way, and it was truly touching to watch their brethren at center ice in Ottawa, wrapped up by the Senators and Devils, tearing up as the Canadian Anthem was belted out by everyone in attendance. That was a moment.
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