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Game 64: Canadiens vs Senators AKA Perfection for Price

February 23, 2020, 11:05 AM ET [104 Comments]
Karine Hains
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
They'll be no Spring hockey in Montreal for the 3rd consecutive year and for a 4th time in 5 years so these are very dark times for Habs fan... Through it all though, all we can do is try to enjoy the 18 meaningless games that are left on the calendar and be entertained whenever possible. Last night's game was most definitely entertaining. As per usual when we play the Sens, Brady Tkachuk was getting in pretty much everyone's face and that did help with the entertainment factor. Early on in the game Gallagher and Chabot tangled in the corner and the later got injured when he hit the boards in a weird fashion. To Tkachuk, that was Gallagher trying to intentionally injure his star d-man and he jumped him in short order. It wasn't a big fight though as both players ended up on the ice in seconds and the refs jumped in the middle of it.

The first wasn't all about Tkachuk though as we saw the best version of Max Domi during that game. Within a minute of puck drop, Domi scored displaying great puck control ability off a Paul Byron pass:



That wasn't enough for Domi though as he buried another one mid-way through the first. With those two goals, he officially overtook his dad in the NHL stats standings. To be fair, the elder Domi's main focus was to score penalty minutes but still, Tie did acknowledge the feat:



The second period was just as entertaining, Tkachuk kept on trying to get in everyone's face and that got to Ben Chiarot and to Carey Price surprisingly enough. It's rather rare to see Price get involved in a tussle but as Chiarot and Tkachuk were going at it, that's exactly what he did. That earned him a penalty and gave the Sens a power play, but I think we'll all agree that was totally worth it, especially since Ottawa couldn't convert.



Price kept his eye on Tkachuk for the rest of the game, safe to say he doesn't trust him one bit:



Montreal managed to get a 3rd goal during the middle frame when Byron received a nice Kovalchuk feed in the slot and wasted no time beating Anderson with it. That was Byron's first goal since his return and Kovy's first point in 6 games. That 3-0 score would stand till the end of the game. It's not that the Sens didn't try, they did shoot on Price's net 30 times but last night, Price could do no wrong...even when he made the odd mistake, he'd manage to fix it:



Safe to say that Price was in a good mood after that game as well (he earned his 48th career shutout), he even took the time to poke fun at the Leafs in his interview with the Athletic's Arpon Basu:



Price wasn't the only one in a good mood though, Paul Byron had himself a two points night and you could tell by the way he played that he loved playing alongside Domi and Kovalchuk. Last night, Byron felt like an important part of this team and it had been a while since that happened I bet. It was all smiles as well for Karl Alzner, thanks to the Scandella trade and the Mete and Ouellet injuries, he got to play his first NHL game in over a year and the picture of him and Price at the final buzzer is a testimony to how happy he was:



We all know that Alzner isn't back in the NHL for good and that he was a bad signing but it's hard not to be pleased for him if this is his last lap. He's been a true professional and an exemple to follow for the youngsters in Laval and he deserved this. Speaking of last laps, that game was the last for the Habs before the trade deadline...How will the line-up look when they take the ice against the Canucks on Tuesday? I think it's clear that Phil Danault is hoping he won't lose his left winger:



Whatever happens though, the Habs will have given us a great last game with this line-up and I think we all felt like clapping along with Max Domi at the end of the game:



For now, get ready for a busy trade deadline day tomorrow and for the rumours to come out left, right and centre...
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