Habs Defeat the Bruins 4-2 - Puck Props & Flops & Pateryn Recalled (Habs)

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Habs Defeat the Bruins 4-2 - Puck Props & Flops & Pateryn Recalled

By Jennifer B Cutler

Nov 8, 2015 • 3:29 pm

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The Montreal Canadiens continued with their winning ways against the Boston Bruins as they defeated them 4-2 Saturday night at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens got behind early in the game when the Bruins scored a powerplay goal just 1:50 into the first period. It was hard for the Canadiens to gather momentum afterwards as they took 3 debatable penalties alone in the first period. The referees gave one back early in the 2nd period as they called a questionable hooking call on David Krejci, resulting in a powerplay goal for Tomas Plekanec. Frank Vatrano, the AHL’s leading scorer put the Bruins back up by one in the second period, scoring his first NHL goal on Mike Condon who was screened on the play. The Habs picked up their pace in the 3rd period, finally breaking through the Jonas Gustavsson as Lars Eller poked a rebound off of Alex Galchenyuk’s shot past the “Monster…. With just over 2 minutes to play in the game, Krejci took his 3rd minor of the game (an undisciplined cross check to Plekanec). On the powerplay, David Desharnais scored his 2nd powerplay goal of the year off of another Galchenyuk rebound. Max Pacioretty would add an empty net goal to break his scoreless streak and ensure the victory for the Canadiens.

Props & Flops from the game:

Props:

Alex Galchenyuk - Accuracy had been a bit of a problem for the young centerman as of late. Rather than try to pick his corners, against the Bruins Galchenyuk simply got his shots on net and two of the Canadiens goals were directly because of the rebounds his shots created. Galchenyuk only had two shots on net and missed another. He will have to attempt more shots during games to continue to increase opportunities but keep in mind that he only played a total of 11:35 last night, a season low for the second consecutive game. Against the New York Islanders this past Thursday, Galchenyuk only played 12:20… While I am all for the Canadiens successfully rolling out 4 lines and keeping everyone fresh, Galchenyuk has thus far proven that he is not a defensive liability, has successfully transitioned into being a full time centerman and is working hard at winning in the faceoff circle. He has almost quietly amassed 11 points in 16 games. Before the season started I think everybody would have been quite pleased with those numbers…

Flop: David Krejci - The Bruins forward took 3 minor penalties during the game and the Habs took advantage by two scoring powerplay goals. Somehow the Canadiens always seem to bring out the undisciplined side of the Bruins and on this night it was Krejci’s turn.

Props:

Mike Condon - Starting his 5th game in a row, Condon stopped 29 of 31 shots to backstop the Canadiens to the win. Condon has yet to lose a game in regulation this season. To say that he has filled in admirably for the injured Carey Price would be an understatement. The 25 year old rookie has outstanding numbers to match his winning record, a save percentage of .940 and goals against average of 1.57. Ever so humble, Condon appears to be his own worst critic:

If Saturday night was Condon fighting the puck, could you imagine what it would have been like with Dustin Tokarski? After a hectic week, Condon will get some well deserved rest (comments courtesy of Canadiens.com).

"It felt special for a number of reasons. That was the first time I’ve been in the net when we were trailing going into the third period. But the guys battled back which felt very special. And obviously playing against the team from where I am from made it extra special tonight

“This week hasn’t really sunk in yet. I haven’t had a minute to think about it. And I don’t think I will spend a lot of time thinking about it. Just take a day off tomorrow to get away from the rink and attack next week on Monday. Tomorrow will be nice, I get to sleep in for once…

Flops:

Claude Julien & Zac Rinaldo - Julien is an excellent head coach in the NHL. However, his decision to play Rinaldo in the final minute of play after the Canadiens went up by two was reminiscent of the previous meeting between the two clubs. The first time around, Rinaldo went hard at Brian Flynn with less than a minute to go. This time he was going after Nathan Beaulieu who had already played the puck.

Beaulieu put up his gloves and stick to defend himself and ended up cross-checking Rinaldo in the face. A match penalty for intent to injure was a laughable call. It’s debatable who was trying to injure whom in this instance. Beaulieu should have received a minor yes. Rinaldo sold the call as well by lying on the ice but somehow got enough of his bearings to play the next shift. Fighting in the NHL is down this season which is good news. However, coaches must still control their players, especially when they are sending out goons such as Rinaldo when the game is out of reach. And as for Beaulieu? The NHL rescinded his match penalty today and there will be no suspension:

Prop or Flop?

Tomas Plekanec once again had a goal taken away due to a coach's challenge and Brendan Gallagher interfering with the opposing goalie. The other night against Ottawa, it was quite clear that Gallagher had interfered with Craig Anderson and so the challenge correctly overturned the goal. Last night’s call was not cut and dry. Yes Gallagher entered the crease. However, as Chara checked him in the crease he was not able to leave which prevented Gustavsson from attempting to make the save.

Regardless of the end result, the question is if Gallagher needs to start holding himself back now that 3 goals have been overturned directly because of him. The short answer is no he doesn’t and he has the full support of his teammates as well. Said Plekanec:

“Oh absolutely not. I told him right away just keep doing what you are doing. It is going to pay off. He’s great at his job and there’s no way we are going to tell him to change.…

Gallagher has gotten this far in the NHL by playing his style of play. If he changes his game he is not being as effective as a player. Gallagher has already matured and evolved as an NHLer. He is much responsible defensively and has improved his all around game. With time I am sure he will learn to pick his spots a little more wisely...

Neither Here Nor There:

- The Canadiens powerplay has been on fire as of late as they connected twice with the man advantage. It was the Canadiens fourth consecutive game with a PP goal. Both powerplay units are going well and contributing and the Canadiens have been able to offer different looks on the backend with Subban and Markov, Petry and Beaulieu and sometimes Petry with Subban. The Canadiens rank 3rd in the league with a PP% of 27.3. Gallagher already has more PP goals this year with four compared with 3 the previous season. For how long will the Canadiens be able to keep this up?

- The Canadiens have a light week ahead of them as they visit Pittsburgh on Wednesday and then play the Colorado Avalanche Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Even if Carey Price gets the green light from the Doctors tomorrow, does Condon still get the start on Wednesday and give Price a couple of extra days to rest/practice? Condon should be well recovered from his busy week and able to start against the Penguins.

- With a couple of days of practice ahead, it would be the ideal time to get Alex Semin back in the lineup. Let him work with Galchenyuk and Eller through practice and try to rekindle their early chemistry. Therrien has said that Semin is still part of the teams plans. It’s time to back that up.

- Greg Pateryn was recalled from the AHL today but barring injury, don’t expect him in the lineup any time soon. Beaulieu and Gilbert have been playing well, especially as of late. Beaulieu has points in 3 of his last 5 games, neither of them have been a minus since the Habs loss to Vancouver.

Cheers & Follow along!

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