The Montreal Canadiens continue to improve under the tutelage of new head coach Claude Julien as the team defeated the New York Rangers 4-1 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The win was their fifth in a row and also gave them a season sweep on their series against the Rangers. As of now, there is a very real possibility that the two teams could meet again in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers continue to be in a dogfight for the top three positions in the Metropolitan division and currently sit fourth, two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets. For now they comfortably hold the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference while the Canadiens continue to keep pace and lead the Atlantic division with 82 points, six ahead of the Ottawa Senators who still hold three games in hand.
Alexander Radulov was a surprise scratch as he has a lingering injury and is considered day to day. Brendan Gallagher replaced him alongside Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault while newcomer Dwight King was promoted to the second line to play on the right side of Alex Galchenyuk and Artturi Lehkonen. Steve Ott and Andreas Martinsen made their Canadiens debut while Michael McCarron was a healthy scratch.
Shea Weber opened the scoring for the Canadiens in the first period of play, marking the first time since the team scored in the first period since February 21st, count coincidentally when they defeated the Rangers 3-2 in a shootout. Artturi Lehkonen scored his first goal in 18 games with what would prove to be the game winning goal. Andrew Shaw scored his third goal in seven games before the Rangers got on the board early in the third period as Chris Kreider scored to make it 3-1. However, that was all the Carey Price would give up at MSG, making 26 saves by night’s end. Jordie Benn would score his first goal with the Canadiens to make it 4-1 and put the game out of reach for the Rangers.
Puck props and flops:
Alex Galchenyuk - He played his most complete game since December and picked up two assists as a reward for his efforts. At practice on Friday Galchenyuk spent time with newcomer Steve Ott to work on faceoffs. That extra practice paid immediate dividends as he won 8 of 11 faceoffs against the Rangers. Galchenyuk and Artturi Lehkonen are starting to look a lot more comfortable with another. One has to wonder if Gallagher performs well enough on the first line, would Julien reunite Radulov with Galchenyuk and have a more balanced attack in the top six?
Carey Price - Are there still any doubters that Price has fully returned to his highly elite level of play yet? Price has won five of his seven starts since Julien’s arrival in Montreal and not allowed more than two goals in any of the games. While there is some truth to the often said line that Canadiens will only go as far as Price takes them, at least he is finally finally getting some support with stronger play in front him. Now if only they were to stand up for him when contact happens, incidental or not.
Artturi Lehkonen - He was the latest Canadiens player to break his goal scoring drought and he did it in style, blasting the puck past Lundqvist for his second game winning goal of the season. Lehkonen was his usual self, constantly in pursuit of the puck but also more involved with getting pucks on net as he had five shot attempts against the Rangers, all of which were on goal. Lehkonen has a decent shooting percentage at 10.3%. He needs to keep shooting the puck and he will be rewarded with further success.
Steve Ott and Andreas Martinsen - The duo made their Canadiens debut and they left quite the positive impression on their new teammates and head coach. Together with Torrey Mitchell they formed a fourth line that was difficult for the Rangers to play against. They were physical, provided energy and created scoring chances. Ott led all Canadiens skaters with seven hits while Martinsen impressed with his surprising speed and use of his big frame. By shadowing J.T. Miller at the end of the game, Ott was also pronouncing his presence to the rest of the league that he is a member of the Canadiens now and that he will continue to be the super pest that everyone loves to hate. The question remains though if they will be able to consistently bring that energy and grit night in and night out.
Jordie Benn - Has there been another trade (near) deadline acquisition that has been as impactful as Benn has been for his new team? His presence on defense has stabilized not just his partner Nathan Beaulieu but everyone else as well. Weber and Andrei Markov do not have to be counted on to play over 25 minutes a night to give the Canadiens their best chance at winning. Against the Rangers, no defenseman played less than Benn’s 18:45 or more than Weber’s 22:26. That Benn chipped in with a goal is a bonus.
Flops:
Not going to nitpick on the Canadiens most complete game under Claude Julien…
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