Carey Price was victorious in his first start since since October 29th as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 5-3 Friday night in Brooklyn. The Canadiens came out strong in the first period, finally scoring first after having allowed their opponents to score the first goal in each of their previous 5 outings. In those 5 games the Canadiens had been outscored 10-1 in the first period. Last night, the Canadiens were able to reverse the trend as they managed to score 3 goals on a shaky Jaroslav Halak and allowed one debatable goal in the first frame. Thomas Greiff replaced Halak to start the second period and allowed the winning goal to Jeff Petry which came just after the powerplay had expired. On this night, Carey Price didn’t have to be perfect. Just his presence in net was a boost to the Canadiens confidence. Instead, the defensive duo of Jeff Petry and Nathan Beaulieu played their best game together and led the way with a combined 3 goals and 1 assist on the night while not being on for a goal against.
Puck Props & Flops:
Carey Price - It wasn’t vintage Carey Price for the entire 60 minutes of play, but Price showed more than enough to prove that he was ready to go. His timing was slightly off and rebound control wasn’t at 100%. However, just having him in the crease gave the Canadiens a mental edge. And yes, he still managed to make the big saves when he needed to. Mike Condon was terrific filling in for Carey Price while he was injured, having started in 9 straight games. He gave the Canadiens a chance to win almost every one of those games but it was obvious that by the end of the run, Condon was getting tired and clearly was not as sharp as he had been. Make no mistake about it, this is Carey Price’s team and everyone is thrilled to have him back between the pipes.
Jeff Petry - Had a multi-goal night for the first time in his career as he opened the scoring in the first period by jumping in to get to Brian Flynn’s rebound, thus putting the Canadiens up for good by scoring the game winner on a blast from the point. In the past couple of games, Petry seemed just a touch off his game, giving up the puck and not playing as consistently as he had been. Last night Petry was the Canadiens best player, leading all Habs with 2 goals, 24:15 minutes of ice time and totally in tune with his Beaulieu. Young Beaulieu perhaps described Petry best (courtesy of Canadiens.com):
“He’s been through a lot and he’s been around the league and for a young guy, he’s played a lot of games. He’s definitely someone whose footsteps I’m trying to follow. He’s creative and we’ve just seen the start of him. He’s a young guy and sometimes people don’t realize that. It’s a lot of fun playing with him and hopefully we can continue the same way.…
Flops:
NHL Referees on Goalie Interference - The Islanders first goal of the came under scrutiny as the Canadiens believed that Brock Nelson had interfered with Price’s ability to stop the puck. Take a look and decide for yourself:
another look at Nelson's goal pic.twitter.com/nN55eKOK8J
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 21, 2015Head coach Michel Therrien lost his challenge as the refs deemed that Nelson did not impede Price’s ability to stop the puck. The greater issue with the non-call is the lack of consistency from ref to ref and game to game when it comes to goaltender interference and challenges. What constitutes a good goal in these situations must be clarified and the sooner it happens the better it will be for the game…
Props:
Nathan Beaulieu - He played his best game of the season as he contributed with a goal and an assist, 4 takeaways, 0 giveaways, played a season high 20:24 minutes and finished the night a +3. Beaulieu is clearly a big part of the Canadiens future and his continued growth is refreshing to see. He has learned when to jump into the play and when he needs to stay back. Last year his game improved in leaps and bounds with the arrival of Sergei Gonchar who was an excellent mentor to Beaulieu. Now Beaulieu has Petry to help model his game after and the results are certainly there. Chances are Beaulieu will drop down to the 3rd pairing again once Alexei Emelin is healthy. However, having 3 pairings that can play will certainly help the Canadiens in the long run and into the playoffs.
Props:
Alex Semin - He wasn’t supposed to play night. Torrey Mitchell suffered a lower body injury during Thursday’s loss to the Arizona Coyotes and Semin was thrust back into the lineup as Therrien had little choice but to play him. Rather than put him back with Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk, Therrien elected to send a message and had Semin on the fourth line with Brian Flynn and Devante Smith-Pelly as Paul Byron played on Galchenyuk’s right. Give credit when credit is due. Semin rebounded from an awful game in which he had zero self-confidence and last night showed flashes of why the Habs signed him in the first place. His backhand pass to Flynn which led to Petry’s goal was very slick. Semin had a breakaway opportunity and even though he was missing a burst of speed, he still got a shot off. In fact he had 4 shots on net, perhaps because he was not always looking to pass to Galchenyuk or Eller. In just over 9 minutes of hockey, Semin played solid, had an assist and finished the night +2. Nor was he on the ice for a goal against. It was a game and effort that Semin can actually build on.
Flops: The Canadiens top 5 - Birthday boy Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov had a rough night. They were a collective -7 on the night and it would have been worse had Gallagher not scored an empty net goal. Subban & Markov were on the ice for all three of the Islanders goals and the top line was on for 2 of them, plus Gallagher was on for the 3rd goal against. The line seemed out of sync and slow compared to their usual play. For the first time this season, Therrien elected to switch it up and reunited the EGG line of Eller, Galchenyuk and Gallagher while promoting Smith-Pelly to the top unit. Therrien has been hesitant to use his line blender this season but I thought he made the change at the appropriate time. I would be surprised though if Gallagher does not find himself back with Plekanec and Pacioretty in Sunday’s rematch against the Islanders.
Neither Here Nor There:
Sven Andrighetto was called up from Saint John’s after the game as Torrey Mitchell was placed on the injury reserve. Some might have thought that rookie Michael McCarron, Bud Holloway or Charles Hudon would have been the first call up. I’m fine with letting McCarron to continue to develop in the AHL and not rushing him. If McCarron is going to be the 13th forward in Montreal, it truly better for him to stay in Saint John’s and get the ice time that he needs. Same with Hudon, if he’s up with the Canadiens I want to see him play, not sit. Holloway would have to go through waivers so again unless the Canadiens really need him, they should not risk losing him just yet. That leaves Andrighetto who doesn’t have to clear waivers, has 15 point in 19 AHL games including 2 goals in their victory last night, and already had a taste of the NHL last season so if pressed into service he will be fine.
Greg Pateryn continues to impress. Despite being a healthy scratch for up until Emelin’s injury, Pateryn has been able to contribute solid minutes and play sound hockey at both ends of the ice. The Canadiens are fortunate to have 7 quality NHL defencemen. He had 3 hits and 1 takeaway in just under 17 minutes of play while his partner Tom Gilbert led the Canadiens with 4 blocked shots.
The Canadiens had an off night in the faceoff circle as only Lars Eller and Brian Flynn won 50% of their draws. David Desharnais, Galchenyuk and Plekanec were all under 50%. Expect them to bounce back in the dot tomorrow night at home.
Cheers & Follow Along! Follow @Jenbcutler