Carey Price backstopped the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames Tuesday night at the Bell Centre as he came within a second of earning his third shutout of the season. Perhaps there should be an asterisk next to the win for Price as it as a shame that his teammates went soft for the last minute of the game and allowed the Flames to score a meaningless goal on a powerplay as Alexander Radulov was watching from the penalty box. Throughout the previous 59 minutes, the Canadiens more or less dominated the Flames as their special teams led the way with Radulov scoring two goals on with the man advantage and Tomas Plekanec chipped in with a shorthanded goal. All four lines contributed offensively as Andrew Shaw and Daniel Carr also scored, helping the Canadiens defeat the Flames with a balanced attack.
Puck props and flops:
Props:
Carey Price - He has now put together two very strong performances in a row despite having lost to the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday night. After last week's 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Price said:
"You can't win the Stanley Cup in January. We just need to improve".
He was certainly on to something there. However, there was never any sense of panic as Price and his teammates struggled. December and January's schedules were tough on the Canadiens and combined with the numerous injuries to key personnel, the team was able to preserver and remain on top of the Atlantic division. Now that the Canadiens have been able to hold a few practices and work on righting the wrong, the team is playing much better hockey and Price has been able to work out the kinks as well. Perhaps the rest of the NHL should actually be nervous. If the Canadiens were able to win without Price playing his hockey, just how good will they be with him back on top of his game?
Alexander Radulov - Despite scoring two goals on the powerplay and putting on a clinic with his skill and ability to create open space with the man advantage, Radulov felt awful about taking a bad penalty that ultimately cost Price the shutout:
The "I'm Sorry, Bro" conversation #Habs Alexander Radulov had with Carey Price when the game ended. pic.twitter.com/2fILMj39dz
β Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) January 25, 2017
There are so many videos and gifs of Radulov celebrating not just his own goals scored but those of his teammates as well. For better or worse he wears his heart on his sleeve. His combination of skill, passion and leadership has been missing on the Canadiens for quite some time. Radulov has become such a part of the team that it is hard to imagine the possibility of him not returning to Montreal next season. The Canadiens are now 20-2-2 when he records at least one point. That his a statistic that general manager Marc Bergevin must think of when he considers re-signing the talented forward. The Canadiens Power Play - With two goals scored on the power play, the Canadiens now rank third in the NHL with the man advantage. It is a far cry from when they were struggling mightily and hovering around 20th in the league. Ever since the Canadiens promoted Nathan Beaulieu to the first unit alongside Shea Weber the team's entry into the zone has been much more controlled. On Radulov's first goal, Beaulieu's pass was reminiscent of Andrei Markov. Also impressive was that Arturrie Lehkonen was given an opportunity on the first unit as Max Pacioretty centered him and Radulov and Kirk Muller continually tweaks the powerplay and looks for ways to improve.
Tomas Plekanec - With a goal and an assist, Plekanec had his first multi-point game since December 10th when he recorded four assists against the Colorado Avalanche. He is once against contributing on special teams as his seventh goal of the season was scored shorthanded and he assisted on Radulov's second powerplay goal. At even strength Plekanec is playing quite well alongside rookie Artturi Lehkonen and Paul Byron. However, if he were playing like the Plekanec of old, he would easily have more points throughout the past five games with these linemates as they have set him up on numerous occasions. Andrew Shaw - He easily played his best game since returning from his concussion back on January 14th against the New York Rangers. With a goal and an assist, Shaw contributed at both ends of the ice and found some nice chemistry with Brian Flynn and especially Sven Andrighetto. He has been able to find that balance and control his emotions, displaying all the right reasons why Bergevin felt it was important to trade for and sign Shaw long-term. Sven Andrighetto and Daniel Carr - Before the season had started, both players had been factored in to many opening night rosters. Instead, they were average at best in training camp and Andrighetto was sent to St. John's before the season began and Carr lasted two games into the season before becoming a healthy scratch. While they have bounced back and forth between the Ice Caps and Canadiens, in and out of the lineup with the big club, it seems as though they are finally coming into their own and playing strong and consistent hockey. Andrighetto is finally playing a 200 foot game and is much more relentless in his pursuit of the puck. His move behind the Flames net and pass to Shaw was absolute perfection. If he keeps this up he will stay in the Canadiens top nine, even when David Desharnais returns. Carr on the other hand does not need to be in the top nine to succeed. He can handle fourth line duties and demonstrated some nice chemistry with Torrey Mitchell on his goal. Flops:
The Canadiens penalty kill - This was actually going to be a prop until the last minute of the game. The Canadiens had successfully killed off their previous 12 penalties in a row as they were mch more aggressive on the puck and covered their areas better. When the Canadiens would lose a faceoff in their zone they would be strong and do their best to not allow their opponent to set up easily. However, all of that was for naught as they relaxed for the last minute of the game and allowed the Flames to walk in, take control and score with 1.1 seconds left in the game. They were already thinking ahead to the buzzer, forgetting that they needed to continue playing to get there first.
--
At practice on Wednesday morning, David Desharnais was on the ice with his teammates in a regular jersey. He will not travel with the team to face the New York Islanders in Brooklyn though and so any further update will be known next week after the All-Star break. The lines otherwise remained the same. It was announced that Carey Price will get the start in net against the Islanders.
Cheers and follow along! Follow @Jenbcutler