The Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Rangers by a lopsided score of 5-1 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. In what was touted to be a goalie battle between the game’s best in Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist, it became an unfortunate night for both goalies as neither finished the game though for very different reasons. Price would re-injure himself in the second period while Lundqvist would allow 5 goals in the game.
Sven Andrighetto opened the scoring in the first period with his first goal of the season and further cemented his place on Alex Galchenyuk’s line. Early in the 2nd period Devante Smith-Pelly scored from Brendan Gallagher’s home away from home to make it 2-0. The Rangers got one back towards the end of the period with a Rick Nash powerplay goal. However, it was in the 2nd period that Carey Price tweaked his lower body injury as he felt immediate discomfort. Although he finished the period, the decision was made to take him out of the game and Mike Condon would start the third period in his place. Price did not even return to the bench. The Canadiens could have come out in the third period discouraged with Price’s injury and go into a defensive shell to protect the lead. It should have been a boost to the Rangers, seeing Price’s backup in net. Instead, the Canadiens came out flying in the third period as Devante Smith-Pelly would score his second of the game just 17 seconds into the frame. Alex Galchenyuk would score shortly after at the 1:29 mark in the third to put the Canadiens up 4-1 on a perfectly placed shot from an awful angle. Captain Max Pacioretty would complete the scoring with a powerplay goal off a laser of pass from Galchenyuk which signalled the end to the King’s night.
Last night’s victory was perhaps the Canadiens most impressive to date for a variety of reasons. Because of this, it’s a “Props… only edition as the “Flops… are really too minute and really, it's a day of giving thanks, right? Habs fans have a lot to be thankful for, even if injuries are starting to take a toll...
Props:
Michel Therrien - Much has been made of version 2.0 Michel Therrien since he has come back for a second stint as the Montreal Canadiens head coach. I would argue that the 2015-2016 edition of Therrien is in fact 3.0. Therrien’s continued growth and evolution has not stopped. With each season he has gotten better as he has shown a newfound ability to trust his players, improved communication and has adapted and been able to learn from previous mistakes. Last night marked Alexei Emelin’s return to the lineup. Rather than slot him next to his usual partner Jeff Petry, Therrien kept Nathan Beaulieu there who for the most part has been dynamite next to Petry and played Emelin with Tom Gilbert. Beaulieu played a solid 19:19 minutes of hockey and led the Canadiens with 4 blocked shots. Emelin was able to ease back into the game and played just 15:10 minutes, the lowest time on ice of all defencemen. Credit also goes to Therrien for not having the Canadiens sit back in the third period after Price’s injury. It would have been the easy way out, to go into a defensive mode and just try to escape MSG with two points. Instead the Canadiens came out flying and completely outplayed the Rangers. This would not have been Therrien or the teams reaction in 2014-2015...
Devante Smith-Pelly - He got first crack at playing on the top line with Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec and he took full advantage of the opportunity. Smith-Pelly’s two goals came from going to the net and being in position to score. He played a really strong two-way game and deserves to be commended for stepping up in a difficult situation. Although Smith-Pelly had a cup of tea with Galchenyuk and Eller, his style of play is much better suited to playing alongside Pacioretty and Plekanec. Will he be able to keep this up for 6 weeks? In reality probably not, but let’s enjoy it for the moment…
Sven Andrighetto - Could he be the permanent solution to playing Right Wing next to Galchenyuk and Eller? So far he is building a strong case. His speed and skill has complimented his linemates and their enthusiasm has been contagious. It has only been two games but Andrighetto is playing confidently and it has been positive not just for the line, but the whole team as well as it takes some of the pressure off of the other lines to perform.
Mike Condon - It is not easy to come into a game after the starting goalie is injured, especially when it’s to replace Carey Price - everyone’s hero. Condon’s last four starts during Price’s previous stint on the injured reserve were clearly not as strong as his earlier ones. Condon eventually tired and was not mentally as strong letting in early goals and forcing his teammates to play catch up. In the 3rd period against the Rangers, Condon showed that some rest did him well as he looked sharp stopping every shot that he faced. Condon had some insightful comments, courtesy of the NHL.com:
"Have a short memory, focus on the things that matter," Condon said of what he learned. "It doesn't matter about the game you played before, it just matters about being in the moment. Whether it's a bad goal or a nice save, you've got to move on to the next one because there's a lot of games to be played."
Marc Bergevin - Last but certainly not least… Bergevin earned his 5 year contract extension. If he survives until the end that will bring it to 2021-2022, making him the longest serving GM since Serge Savard. That’s not a coincidence as Savard was actively involved in choosing Bergevin back in 2012. Bergevin completely changed the character and culture of the Canadiens, starting at the top and trickling all the way down to the players. The Canadiens are now one of the most respected teams in the NHL and constantly competitive. Yes he was fortunate to inherit the team’s foundation of Carey Price, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty. However he still had to compliment his core players and for the most part he has been quite successful. If you haven’t already read this piece by Pierre Lebrun, I highly recommend checking it out as it reveals what other top and respected general managers around the league think of Bergevin:
From @Real_ESPNLeBrun: Bergevin's extension applauded by fellow GMs. https://t.co/sPdFCsaWjy #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/uXjTlE8H5z
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) November 25, 2015Neither Here Nor There:
If Price misses 5+ games again, the Canadiens cannot afford to ride Condon the same way that they the first time around. They will have to manage his starts a little more carefully this time around, even if it means putting in Dustin Tokarski for a game or two.
Greg Pateryn drew the short straw and was relegated to the press box as Emelin returned to the lineup. In a time that the Canadiens are all of the sudden hit with the injury bug, they have the luxury of having 8 healthy defencemen and unfortunately someone has to sit. The Canadiens can feel good about Pateryn though and know that he will be there ready to play whenever he gets the call.
Alex Semin also suffered a lower body injury but the extent of his is still unknown as the focus after the game was all about Price. The St. John’s Ice Caps recalled Eddie Pasquale and Tim Bozon from the Brampton Beast. After 5pm the Canadiens will announce who they have recalled but expect Tokarski and another forward to join the Habs in New Jersey. It looks like Bud Holloway will make his long awaited NHL debut tomorrow night.
The Canadiens announced that Jarred Tinordi has been assigned to St. John’s on a conditioning stint this morning:
Canadiens today assigned defenseman Jarred Tinordi to the @IceCapsAHL (conditioning purposes).
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 26, 2015Tinordi had to agree to go so this is positive news. The Tinordi situation is taxing on everyone involved and other teams probably want to see him play, even if it is in the AHL and not the NHL. Either way, this is a step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see if he stays the full two weeks in the AHL or if he only plays a few games and gets recalled.
Finally, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating today south of the border!
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