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Price delivers in Vancouver, Briere on the 4th line vs. Winnipeg |
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A masterful, 39-save performance by Carey Price was central to the Canadiens biggest win of the season, thus far. Bonus for Price that it came in front of friends and family in Vancouver.
Goals from Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec and Josh Gorges put this one out of reach with Price standing on his head, but it was a second period mistake by Dan Hamhuis that killed the Canucks' spirit. At the end of a penalty killing shift, Lars Eller harmlessly dumped the puck into the Canucks' end, and Hamhuis picked it up and banked off Roberto Luongo's skate. It was the winning goal of the hockey game, scored by a player who was on the bench by the time the puck was in.
They say you have to be good to be lucky, and lucky to be good. Eller worked hard enough for this fortuitous bounce, but had it not gone in, it would've made it two straight for him without a point.
The goal--perhaps the strangest one we'll see all season--changed the entire complexion of the game, and for the third straight game, the Canadiens dominated the third period.
Alex Galchenyuk was held off the board for the first time this season, and Brendan Gallagher who was also there for a homecoming--his first NHL game in the city he spent his Junior career in--failed to register a point.
Not bringing up the lack of production from Galchenyuk and Gallagher to slag them; I'm bringing it up because the Canadiens were looking for their leaders to step up, and that's exactly what happened in this game.
Pacioretty opened the scoring with an excellent effort on the powerplay. Plekanec got his goal gift-wrapped by Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban. Gorges put a floater in, much to the delight of his grandmother in the stands. And Price, he who made 17-saves in the second period, was brilliant.
Therrien dominates Torts
Maybe his team has just stepped up at the right time, but for whatever reason, Michel Therrien has dominated the coaching match against John Tortorella since taking over as coach of the Canadiens.
The Habs were 3-0 against the Rangers last year, and they have one more meeting against the Canucks this year (Feb). So far, Therrien's record vs. Tortorella is 4-0, with the Habs outscoring the Rangers/Canucks by a cumulative score of 13-2.
Here's a quote from Lars Eller after the Canadiens took four points off the Rangers in February of last season:
"We love to piss that guy off," Eller said of Torts.
"It's not a coincidence after two games like that. They were bad because we made them look bad."
Demotions
David Desharnais was pulled away from Daniel Briere and Pacioretty, and was placed with Rene Bourque and Brandon Prust for Saturday's game. He responded with four shots on goal, and 56% success.
Desharnais hasn't been helping much on the offensive side of the puck, but believe it or not, he's rocking a 58% faceoff efficiency, which puts him behind Ryan White who's at 68%. It's not the biggest deal, but it's a minor contribution worth noting.
Speaking of demotions, Daniel Briere was practicing on the team's fourth line with Travis Moen and Michael Bournival. This move has nothing to do with promoting someone else in the lineup.
"It's due to his lack of production," said Therrien to reporters at practice yesterday.
For a player that had so much to prove before the season got underway, Briere's off to a bad start in Montreal. He's an older player, so he deserves a little leeway there. People tend to forget after a shortened season that it does take time for older players to get their motors running at full steam. But it would be one thing if Briere weren't capitalizing on his opportunities, it's another that he's not creating them.
Briere's effort level has been less than stellar for a guy that must have wanted to shut the critics up pretty quick. He's essentially started like a player who doesn't care too much what the critics have to say about him.
It's going to be a wake-up call for Briere to skate some shifts next to Bournival. The kid's effort-level has to be somewhat contagious, and Therrien has to be hoping it sparks his veteran.
With Brian Gionta back, the Canadiens are set to take on Winnipeg with a slightly different lineup. The captain will line up with Pacioretty and Eller.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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