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Habs end road trip with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Blues |
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The Montreal Canadiens concluded their five game road trip with a 3-2 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. It was their first game without the injured Alex Galchenyuk and the team put up a very valiant effort against a tough Western Conference opponent. The struggling Tomas Plekanec stepped up to fill the void with an assist on Paul Byron’s opening goal and then adding a goal of his own to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. Al Montoya had a strong game for the most part but likely would want Paul Stastny’s goal as he came off the post just enough to allow the Blues first goal in the third period of play. A few minutes later, Jaden Schwartz would capitalize on a broken defense as he had an easy tap-in goal to tie the game at two apiece. As losing Galchenyuk was enough, they although lost David Desharnais to an apparent knee injury in the third period, forcing the Canadiens to finish the game with only two centers. In overtime the Blues made no mistake on their three on two odd man rush as Schwartz scored to win the game.
All in all, the Canadiens had a decent road trip against formidable opponents. To go 2-2-1 and come with five points is okay considering the struggles that the team has faced in year’s past when visiting California. There were not blown out by any of the competition and each game was decided by a goal. The Canadiens perhaps deserved a better fate against the Blues as they gave a strong effort but it was evident towards the end of the game that the team was tired and were doing their best to hang on. The extent of Galchenyuk’s and Desharnais’ injuries will likely be revealed on Thursday but the Canadiens will certainly need to call up at least one player from St. John’s.
It was announced today that defenseman Mark Barberio has been re-assigned to the Ice Caps which should signal that Nathan Beaulieu has recovered from his throat injury and is ready to return to the lineup. Forward Charles Hudon was also reassigned to St. John's as the Canadiens likely want him to get back into game shape before bringing him back to play, especially if Galchenyuk and Desharnais are out long-term.
Puck props and flops:
Props:
Tomas Plekanec - It is fair to say that his performance against the Blues was his best of the 2016-2017 season. The Canadiens needed someone to step up and spark the offense without Galchenyuk in the lineup and Plekanec heeded the call and played like his usual old self. To say that his play so far this season has been a disappointment would be an understatement. Everyone has been waiting for him to break out and contribute on offense. Instead he had been relegated to the third line and booted from the power play. Most fans would not be that critical of his play if it were not for his $6 million per year price tag. The Canadiens will need Plekanec to step up now more than ever, especially if Galchenyuk and Desharnais are lost long-term to injuries. He had been playing quite well alongside Paul Byron and so hopefully tasking him to play on the top line with Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov will inspire him.
Al Montoya - The backup goaltender played well for the most part and kept the Blues off the scoresheet until the third period, giving his team ample time to try to build on their lead. He made some excellent saves and for the most part looked like goaltender we saw before the November 4th debacle against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Montoya had not won a game since October 26th in Brooklyn and it had looked promising for much of the game that he would get back into the ‘W’ column last night. Unfortunately, the Canadiens were unable to provide any more offense. His play was encouraging though and his teammates should still have full confidence in Montoya’s ability to perform.
Greg Pateryn - After going through a rough stretch of games from which Pateryn lost his confidence, he has worked hard to regain his form and find ways to contribute in limited game action. He was on the ice for both of the Canadiens goals and none of the Blues. Although he only had two blocks, they were both big and he had to shake it off in the locker room before returning to the game. His confidence is evident as Pateryn is no longer afraid to carry the puck or jump in on offense. Hopefully he will continue with this strong play when Beaulieu returns as his partner.
Flop:
Jeff Petry - The defenceman has been struggling as of late and is not playing nearly as well as we are accustomed to seeing from Petry. A minus two against the Blues, he is also without a point in his last eight games and has not recorded a point with the man advantage since October 27th. Andrei Markov has been the better defenceman on their pairing and far more consistent. It was around this time last year that Petry’s play started to go downhill as he tried to play through his sports hernia injury. Hopefully he is healthy and not suffering through any injuries…
The Canadiens power play - It went 0/5 on the night and rarely looked threatening. They will obviously have to adjust without Galchenyuk on the first unit but they still have Shea Weber’s big shot. Their best opportunity came on their final powerplay as the players kept moving and did not stay static leading to Pacioretty and Weber hitting the post. For the most part though the Canadiens had difficulty simply entering the Blues zone and sustaining pressure. They need to work on their breakouts once they resume practice Friday in Brossard.
Canadiens faceoffs - So far this season much of the focus has been on Galchenyuk’s poor efficiency in the faceoff circle but it was obvious against the Blues that this is an area that most of the team’s centers need work on. Torrey Mitchell and Phillip Danault were the only ones to win the majority of their draws with a success rate of 64% and 67% respectively. By contrast, the rest of the Canadiens centers were not even close to 50% as Plekanec came in a 39%, Desharnais 22%, Andrew Shaw 22% and Brian Flynn at 40%. It is hard to score when you are constantly chasing the puck and do not have possession right off the draw.
The Canadiens return to the Bell Centre on Thursday to take on the New Jersey Devils.
Cheers and follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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