Everybody knows it, trips out west are often tricky for the bleu, blanc, rouge and it pretty much started as it always does. The first stop was in Edmonton and Antti Niemi was manning the net as Carey Price had made it known that he needed to work out some stuff "upstairs". The Habs were taking on a Oilers team that had lost its last 4 games and the Habs were hoping to make it 5, unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Not only did the Habs lose but they did so in atrocious fashion. They were outshot 43-29 and Niemi was left to his own device more often then not. The odd man rushes were numerous and the overall defence seemed to be next to inexistant. To make matters worst, the Habs second string goalie really wasn't at the top his game either... There were plenty of moments during which he either seemed to be wrestling the puck or the be playing ping-pong with the opposition, looking keen to give them the puck back...We'll never know if Claude Julien would have liked to give Price another day off on Thursday but with the way Niemi had played, it was pretty much impossible to do so and it became clear that Carey Price would be in the crease on Thursday.
Thankfully, it seems that less than a week off was enough for the star net minder. Even though the Habs were once more heavily outshot (45 to 22), he stood tall making 43 saves and earning the 1st star of the game. Many of the saves made were in prime scoring position as well but he looked like the Price we saw in his trophy laden season. In fact, only Matthew Tkachuk managed to get the puck by Price but he did it twice in the second period. So even with Price's spectacular play, the second period still ended 2-1 for the Flames and one could start to wonder if the Canadiens were ever going to come back in the game. At 8:32 of the third, Jonathan Drouin score his 6th goal of the season bringing everybody right back to square one. Less than 4 minutes later, Lehkonen found the back of the net and gave the Habs a 3-2 lead which would stand until the final buzzer. In all fairness, the game winning goal given by Mike Smith should have been stopped but the Habs goaltender is not the only starter to have some mishaps this season.
2 days later, the Canadiens were back in action in Vancouver and unsurprisingly, Price was in the net again. Just like the Oilers, the Canucks were trying to avoid losing a 5th game in a row while the Canadiens were still trying to get back to back wins for the first time since Paul Byron was injured in October. The Habs gave much more support to their goalie in this game and the shots were 38-31 for the Canucks. The first period was scoreless but the new favourite of many fans, Tomas Tatar, buried a beauty shot off a fantastic Jeff Petry feed:
About 8 minutes later, the Canucks tied it up through Michael Del Zotto and the score remained 1-1 until the end of the second. Halfway through the 3rd, the Canucks scored again on a wicked shot taken by Elias Petterssen on the power play. A beauty of a one timer near the right defensive zone face off point, it actually looked like a patented Ovechkin power play goal and it's easy to see why there is so much hype about this kid. It didn't even take the Habs 2 minutes to equalize, Max Domi threw the puck in front of Markstrom's net and it deflected off Andrew Shaw, who was standing in his usual spot in front of the net, before crossing the line. With less than 3 minutes to go in the game, Michael Del Zotto took one of the stupidest penalties ever taken. For some reason, he decided to hit Kotkaniemi after he had gotten rid of the puck and he did not miss him. The Habs' number 15 was properly stamped on the boards before hitting the ice, as he got up, you could see that he was frustrated with the hit but he did the right thing not going after his agresser. The 18 year old keeps finding new ways to impress the Habs' faithful and that particular exemple of self control was just brilliant...I guess it's possible to see what the hype is about for him as well. While the Habs power play has been downright atrocious lately, it took it a tiny 8 seconds to strike what would be the goal winning goal thanks to Jonathan Drouin. For the 2nd game in a row, Carey Price earned the 1st star of the game and the Canadiens left the West coast with 4 points out of a possible 6.
Considering how shaken Price looked at the same time last week, there is no doubt that this week has been a real success and something the Canadiens will aim to build on. The Habs will play 4 times in the next 7 days and I think we may very well see the return of Shea Weber...a good news for the defence, the power play, the penalty kill and well, pretty much for everyone...aside from the opposition that is.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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