Canadiens Both Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron were missing from practice yesterday but Claude Julien confirmed that Brendan "Sparkplug" Gallagher would be playing against the Caps while Byron would be reevaluated on a day-to-day basis. This morning at le complexe sportif Bell, Byron is on the ice but is not on a line. The lines as we speak look like this:
Tatar-Danault-Gallagher Drouin-Domi-Hudon Lehkonen-Kotkaniemi-Armia Deslauriers-Peca-Shaw
Benn-Petry Reilly-Juulsen Ouellet-Mete
Byron sitting out means a big opportunity for Hudon who climbs up to the 2nd line alongside Drouin and Domi. With two line mates with such offensive flair, Hudon MUST find a way to produce if he wants to get Claude Julien to ne see him as expendable when it's time to change the line-up. We also notice that the 3rd line will now be called the Finnish line with all members coming from Finland, let's hope that the 3 of them find a way to hit it off on the ice and we see some magic happen. As for the 4th line well, it most certainly won't be a fast line but hopefully they find a way to keep the pace and stay ouf of the box and away from bad penalties.
The Habs have yet to drop back to back games this year and they'll be looking to carry on with that trend. Prior to puck drop, Max Domi will receive the Molson Cup as best top player for the team in the month of October. With 11 points in 11 games, it's hard to argue with that nomination especially since the Canadiens have not had to rely on Price standing on his head to notch wins so far this season.
Julien has already confirmed the Carey Price will be between the posts tonight and chances are, he will have more work than he's had lately...Should the Habs fail to avoid the penalty box, he'll be exposed to Ovechkin's one-timers from "his office" that's never an easy save even though the whole world knows it's coming.
Finally, Nikita Scherbak is currently doing a conditioning stint with the Rocket in Laval and played his first match last night in a Rocket 2-1 loss to the Belleville Senators. Scherbak was kept off the scoresheet.
Washington Capitals
The Caps are currently 4th in the Metropolitan division with 12 points and stand just outside of the playoffs picture. It's not rare to see Cup champs stumble out of the blocks the next season. If there's such a thing as the sophomore jinx, there is also a concept called "Cup Hangover" and from what we've seen from the celebrations, wouldn't be surprising if it was the case here.
That being said, we must remember that Washington is without one of its top line forward Tom Wilson. Yes, I'm aware that he's no Ovechkin but the fact remains that he can play some very good hockey and create space for the great 8. Wilson has now served 10 of the 20 matchs he was suspended for and after his appeal was denied by Gary Bettman, it is reported that he will take his case to a third party arbitrator. Good luck to him but his record is far from clean and it would be surprising to see the sentence reduced.
Todd Reirden has confirmed that Braden Holtby will be facing Carey Price and that veteran blue-liner Brooks Orpik has not travelled with the team and therefore won't be playing. The Caps should be rather well rested having played their last game on Saturday.
Back later today with updates as information comes in!
Pre game: Byron definitely out, Alzner too Mete will play with Ouellet.
Postgame
The fans who made their way to the Bell Centre tonight saw EVERYTHING. This truly was a thriller of a game with multiple changes in the lead, with speed, insane passing, great saves and just about everyone contributed!
First period Early in the first period, the Finnish line drew first blood! The Habs faithful had been waiting a while to cheer for Kotkaniemi's first goal and even from here, it looked like the Bell Centre shook. The Habs' first round pick and 3rd pick overall became the second youngest player to ever score for the Habs, not far behind Mario Tremblay and as per usual, the kid's smile lit up the town. On the second line, Tatar-Danault-Gallagher kept having chances after chances knocking at the door which Holtby managed to keep tightly shut. It wasn't long before Lars Eller came to haunt his former teammates and tie it up however. With a couple of seconds to go in the first, Andrew Shaw won the draw in the Capitals end and Mike Reilly was able to get a shot on target but Holtby saved it easily and both teams went back to the locker room having scored once. The Habs were leading 18-13 in the shots department and played very well for the first 20 minutes.
Second period I referred earlier to Brendan "Spark plug" Gallagher and did it show in the second! He came out roaring and scored 32 seconds into the second frame before adding another one 2:34 later turning the Bell Centre in a giant party. This was however short lived as Alex Ovechkin scored a beautiful one-timer on a 2 on 1 and Eller tied it up a minute and 10 seconds later, bringing everyone back to square one. About 5 minutes later, Ovi buried his second of the game putting the Caps in front for the first time and that seemed to sting the Habs. Thankfully while the score was 4-3 Caps, Price made quite a few brilliant save and it seemed to get his team back on track.
Third period The Caps couldn't solve Price in the third and there was once again a lot of attacking hockey. At one stage Hudon made a beautiful play with a back pass from behind the net and while on his knees but Max Domi was unable to seal the deal. Speaking of Hudon, he failed to get on the score sheet but I think he can truly feel like he's had a good game. Should Byron not return on Saturday, he should stay on this line alongside Domi and Drouin. Ovechkin was in a rather good position to take one of his signature shot in the third but Nicolas Deslauriers of all people neutralized him and sent the attack the other way. For once, he didn't clear it either he skated to puck out and created a 2 on 1. That being said, his lack of speed does really show every night and his role as a wrecking ball cannot make up for this weakness...I believe he'll soon find himself back on the press gallery. With a little over 3 minutes to go, Kotkaniemi scored his 2nd goal of the game making it 4-4 and the energy in the air was palpable! While one could have though that the game was heading to overtime, it was not to be. With 22 seconds to go, Max Domi scored the winning goal with a slap shot that Holtby would probably like to get back but what's done is done. The Caps then pulled their goalie and Armia scored the empty netter two little seconds later.
While this match really was a thrilling one for the fans, the Habs must learn to hang on to a lead although I'll admit that I prefer high octane attacking hockey to a team that plays it safe and just hopes not to surrender any goals.
Positives: -The Habs stayed away from the sin bin, only getting 2 minors -Kotkaniemi finally opened his account in the big league and made another deposit -Gallagher was true to himself, being the main architect of the come back -The ovation the crowd gave to Kotkaniemi as he was introduced as the first star -With 2 seconds before their last 2 goals, the Habs set a new NHL record for the 2 fastest goals
The Habs will be back in action on Saturday night when they'll welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Blog may be late as I'll be attending the Habs summit and I may not be able to write about the game before Sunday. Until then, enjoy the win Habs fans!