It didn't start in the best fashion for the Habs since they lost a key piece very early on. Tomas Tatar suffered an upper body injury and left the game in the first period after only 2 minutes and 45 seconds of ice-time. While he no doubt is a very important part of the Canadiens' top line, his absence didn't stop Gallagher and Danault from working as hard as ever and no matter who completed their line, be it Lehkonen, Byron or Hudon, they were a constant treat. Unsurprisingly, the first goal was scored by Brendan Gallagher who was neck deep in net battle when he deflected a Ben Chiarot shot for his 22nd of the year. Just over 2 minutes later, the first line was once again on the ice when Montreal doubled its lead. This time, it was Philip Danault who stood in Gallagher's office and created the perfect screen for Jeff Petry's shot to squeeze in. There is was, the oh so dreaded 2 goal lead...would the Canadiens buckle under the pressure once again or would they manage to hang on for once? Well, we only had to wait a few minutes to find out when Charles Hudon jumped on the ice to replace the injured Tatar, intercepted a pass in New York's territory and wired a perfect shot past Thomas Greiss who had just given up his last goal of the night.
Un premier pour Charles Hudon avec les Canadiens cette saison.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 4, 2020
Charles Hudon gets his first of the season with the Habs.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/ItXU0z0tOf
Montreal also played well in the second frame and even though they only took 5 shots on goal, Paul Byron made his count when he converted on a nice Joel Armia shorthanded play. The scoreline would hold until 40 minutes had been played and it actually looked like the Canadiens were running away with the game. As soon as the 3rd started though, New York scared everyone by scoring a goal which was disallowed because of a distinct kicking motion. That was a blessing because a goal so early on really would have shaken this already fragile team. New York didn't give up though and did manage to score a good goal 5 minutes later thanks to a pretty bad turnover from Carey Price. Jordan Weal comforted everyone 10 minutes later when he added a 5th Habs goal a minute before the Isles got their 2nd in a 2 man advantage. Thankfully, Joel Armia made it 6-2 in an empty net for the Canadiens' second shorthanded goal of the game and Montreal was able to celebrate a win and the fact that they managed to hold on to a lead.
Le gros but de Ti-Paul en désavantage numérique.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 4, 2020
Pauly with the shorty.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/lO1wxUdXQl
There's a few positives to take away from this game. When the Habs lost Tatar, it looked like the team's other left wingers decided that they would step up and make up for it and they sure did. Both Joel Armia and Artturi Lehkonen who had been rather discreet lately awoke from their slumber, the former getting 2 points and the later 1. Max Domi was held off the score sheet but he did manage to make a few good plays during the night and once, after turning the puck over, he back checked like his life depended on it and that was rather nice to see. Price wasn't overly busy but he was there when needed.
That's what I've got to say about the game...now, about what happened before the game... Unless you are from Mars, you've surely seen that Marc Bergevin has confirmed from the GM meeting in Boca Raton that Claude Julien would be back behind the Habs' bench next season. Here is what he actually said:
Question claire de @ChantalMachabee , réponse claire de Marc Bergevin : Claude Julien sera en poste au camp d'entraînement. pic.twitter.com/DeSd1EKupU
— Hockey 360 (@hockey360) March 3, 2020
Let's get real, he could hardly say something like this: "Well Chantal, I think he's out of answers and ideas so I'm letting him finish the season and then we'll dismiss him" could he? I honestly cannot believe that the Montreal Canadiens can miss the playoffs 3 years in a row and that no one will lose their job. I know that Julien can only do so much with the team that Bergevin provides him with but I just don't see him as the ideal coach to develop our young players. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that a GM endorses his coach only to turn around and give him his marching orders.
In closing, I really hope that Johnny Boychuk is ok after taking a skate to the face and rushing off the ice. This is the kind of scene no one likes to see but hopefully, it was only scary and no damage was done. Montreal will be back in action on Thursday night against the powerful Lightning and it remains to be seen if Tatar will be back by then although Claude Julien said he doesn't expect it to be serious in his post game comments.