The Washington Capitals, or rather Braden Holtby defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 3-2 Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Let’s face it, if not for Holtby’s superb performance, Montreal would have have won the game. It was a strange night, one in which the bounces went in Washington’s favor despite Montreal’s best efforts and one of the most complete games that the team has played all season. The Canadiens can hold their heads up in terms of effort but ultimately it was disappointing that they could not earn at least a point.
Tom Wilson opened the scoring in the first period off a lapse in defensive zone coverage by Christian Thomas and Alexei Emelin. Nathan Beaulieu backhanded a pass to Thomas along the boards but Thomas stayed static allowing Brooks Laich to intercept the pass, who then fed Wilson as Emelin was slow to cover his man. The Canadiens managed to tie the score in the second period, seconds after a powerplay had expired. P.K. Subban and Alex Galchenyuk were simply sensational and dominant moving the puck on that powerplay and Lars Eller made a quick and nifty move at the net to slide the puck between Holtby’s pads. The Capitals and T.J. Oshie scored in the last minute of the frame to pull ahead 2-1 off a strange bounce. The Canadiens kept pressing in the third period and while killing off a Max Pacioretty penalty, the duo of Brian Flynn and Paul Byron used their speed to explode by the Capitals as Flynn showed some serious skill to beat Holtby to tie the game again. Oshie would put the Capitals up for good on a perfect deflection to beat Mike Condon. Any hope of a Canadiens comeback was dashed when Dale Weise took an unnecessary slashing penalty with two minutes left in the game. It was a valiant effort by the Canadiens but it seemed to be an evening in which they were simply not destined to win.
"The hockey gods were not on our side tonight." - coach Michel Therrien
— Mitch Gallo (@MitchyGallo) December 4, 2015Here are my Puck Props & Flops from the game:
Props:
Lars Eller - It was perhaps Eller’s best game of the season. Eller was practically in playoff mode as he was relentless in his puck pursuit and aggressive on the forecheck, winning most of his battles. He came to play last night and was rewarded with some powerplay time, something that he has not seen a lot of as of late. His goal came two seconds after the powerplay ended and he was the beneficiary of excellent work by Subban and Galchenyuk. However, Eller still had to make his strong move at the net and finish the play. Hopefully he can continue with this high level of play.
Alex Galchenyuk - He was in Beast Mode all night long. Galchenyuk is playing with an enormous amount of confidence in himself as well as his linemates. His stickhandling is mesmerizing to watch and he is so strong on the puck. Head Coach Michel Therrien has to find a way to get him more minutes in games, especially on nights when there are not a lot of Powerplays. Galchenyuk played 14:42 minutes last night which is simply not enough, especially on evenings when he is absolutely raring to go. He also had 4 shots on net including one that would have tied the game at 3 apiece had Holtby not made a spectacular save. Galchenyuk also won 75% of his faceoffs.
Flop:
The Canadiens 4th line - Flynn was terrific on the penalty kill and scored a beauty of a goal, however his linemates had an especially off night. Thomas and Devante Smith-Pelly each played less than 6 minutes, were a combined -3 and totalled only one shot on net between the two of them. Smith-Pelly started the year off so well by using his speed and being aggressive. Ever since the New York Rangers game though he has appeared more like the 2014-2015 version. Is he getting tired? Thomas had also played well in his two previous games but was disappointing last night. The 4th line has contributed so much to the Canadiens success this season but last night they were a detriment. The good news is that Torrey Mitchell skated for the first time today so hopefully he will recover and get back into the lineup sooner, rather than later.
Props:
The Duo of David Desharnais & Max Pacioretty - The players must have felt like they were riding a bike the way that their chemistry came back. Pacioretty looked to be as close to full speed as he’s been all season as he was dynamite on offence, leading both teams with 9 shots, many of the quality scoring variety. Desharnais won 58% of faceoffs and was a force as well. The worry is that he will revert back and always look for Pacioretty but for now the duo are clicking. On the flip side, this line was on for the Capitals winning goal and it was a mismatch by Therrien. The combination of Desharnais-Pacioretty-Weise should not be on against the opposing teams top lines, especially with the Canadiens 3rd defensive pairing as the Capitals took advantage of weak coverage.
Props:
Braden Holtby - He stopped 33 of 35 shots, many of which were excellent scoring opportunities. He did to the Canadiens what Carey Price has done to other teams so many times before. Holtby was the 2nd star of the NHL for the month of November and with apologies to Don Cherry, he is probably the best goalie playing in the NHL right now. Holtby is leading the NHL in wins (16) and sits 3rd in Goals Against Average with 1.96. The Capitals owe him big time for their win last night and they know it.
Flop:
Mike Condon - I don’t like to rag on the guy who has stepped up for the most part during Price’s injuries, but the Canadiens need him to bring his game up a notch to survive the next while without Price. Condon stopped only 16 of 19 shots and while some of them were very solid saves, he needs to find a way to consistently battle and get the Canadiens the W’s. His teammates didn’t help him last night with a couple of instances of blown coverage and fluky bounces but he’ll need to find a way to stay focused and make more stops on those types of plays…
Neither Here Nor There:
Dale Weise is not the solution to a Right Winger playing alongside Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. 19 + minutes of ice time is too much for Weise and he won’t be as effective when he plays that much. I doubt it will happen, but I would love for Therrien to give Daniel Carr a try on that line against the Carolina Hurricanes. St. John’s Ice Caps coach Sylvain Lefebvre says that Carr reminds him of Brendan Gallagher, that is exactly what the Canadiens need there.
The Defensive Pairings minutes allotment was strange last night. Nathan Beaulieu played a really strong game but only had 13:51 minutes of ice time. His partner Jeff Petry who usually averages just under 22 minutes a game played 18:42. Meanwhile Tom Gilbert somehow played 20:28. Andrei Markov played almost 5 minutes out of 6 on the powerplay. When Eller scored his goal just after the PP ended, it was with Petry on the ice, not Markov. Beaulieu didn’t get one second of PP time. Markov is certainly valuable on the powerplay, but he is out there way too long and it can cause him to play too many minutes during the game and get tired. It’s a long season. The Canadiens have already limited Markov’s time on the penalty kill. Earlier in the season the PP time was distributed a little more evenly. It’s time to get back to that and conserve his energy. Petry and Beaulieu are more than capable of contributing on the powerplay, it’s time to let them.
Max Pacioretty was named second star of the game and his 9 shots on net were impressive. However, Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller played even better and were not on for any Capitals goals. One of them should have had the honour.
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