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Thoughts on the Habs' 5-4 win over the Kings, by Andrew Saadalla |
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As the puck dropped at 12:00pm (PST) between the Montreal Canadiens and hosts Los Angeles Kings, fans were treated to one of the most entertaining games of hockey thus far in the 2016-2017 regular season schedule. A shootout was required as both teams headed into overtime with a 4-4 tie, and Alexander Radulov helped seal the victory with a beautiful backhanded goal while Paul Byron beat Peter Budaj high on the glove side to close the game out.
- His shootout goal wouldn’t be the sole dazzling play by general manager Marc Bergevin’s prized free agent signing, as Radulov scored a nifty backhander during regulation time on an individual effort to add to his two assists.
- Meanwhile, captain Max Pacioretty is (hopefully) silencing some of his critics with an exceptional two goals and three points game which included a non-stop defensive hustle by the 2016 whipping boy of the year.
- David Desharnais played another strong game as he battled players significantly taller and stronger than himself and recovered multiple pucks while adding two assists to the score sheet. After Alex Galchenyuk collided with Anze Kopitar and was forced to leave the game with a lower-body injury, Desharnais filled in nicely on the power play, assisting on Pacioretty’s first goal of the night
- Carey Price stopped whatever he could see on Sunday afternoon, registering 27 saves on the 31 shots he faced and an un-Price-like .871 save percentage, but his defensemen are hardly to blame.
- Alexei Emelin landed eight hits and fired two shots on goal, similarly to his partner Shea Weber, who registered six hits while blocking a few shots to continue his top-15 ranking in blocked shots with an average of 2.13 per game and 4.94 per 60 minutes. Emelin is ranked 23rd, as he blocks an average of 2 per game and 5.61 per 60 minutes of game-time.
- Mark Barberio and Greg Pateryn (1A) complimented each other well despite limited ice-time of 11:49 and 13:03, respectively. They finished their evenings with an even rating, while Pateryn threw two hits as both played virtually mistake-free and confident hockey.
- A surprise standout for me was Artturi Lehkonen, who continues to fire intelligent shots on net while displaying just how skillful his release is. He scored the lone goal against the San Jose Sharks, and there’s so much more left for the 21-year-old rookie to show.
- Finally, Andrew Shaw did well in scoring once and adding six hits to his name.
The St. Louis Blues await the Montreal Canadiens next, as the Habs will close out their longest road trip of the season against another heavy-hitting team. Being outhit by a margin of 42-29 did nothing to slow Michel Therrien's troops down, and the players will hope to build off of an important win during a tough stretch of games.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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