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Keep Calm and Carey on... |
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Claude Julien didn't confirm that Price would be in goal tonight in his media scrum last night but it was quite clear that he hoped he would be. Thankfully, the star net minder was ready to go tonight and boy oh boy was he in the zone! In fact, he might have been the zone himself to be honest. In his 60th game of the season, Carey Price shined as bight as he's ever shone...he had an answer for almost everything.
In the first period alone, the Hurricanes took 21 shots on the all-star goaltender and if you had the attempted shots, the Canes shot 39 times in one period. Yet, somehow, the Canadiens scored the first goal through Paul Byron and it would be a long time before the goal light was lit up again.
Claude Julien probably told his team that their performance in the first was unacceptable (aside for Price's of course) because for over 14 minutes in the second period, the Canes didn't have a single shot. When they started shooting again though, it was once again the Carey Price show. No one managed to score in the second and the score was still 1-0 after 40 minutes.
As the third period started, it soon became clear that Carolina was not going to give up. The Canes seemed to be everywhere in the last frame and they took 14 shots against the Habs' 6. Many of those 14 shots were quality ones and an ordinary goaltender couldn't have resisted as long as Price did. Even when his teammates cough up the puck in the defensive zone, he was there to protect them from themselves (especially you Drouin). However, no-one's perfect and with just over than 5 minutes to go, Trevor Van Riemsdyk tied things up. Everyone on social media had exactly the same reaction: the Habs owed it to Price to score a second goal. They did play a bit better for the reminder of the 3rd but they just couldn't bury another one.
In a tightly played overtime, the action was end to end and it all came down to a bad change on Montreal's part. During a semi clearing of their zone, Gallagher came on and needed to hang on to the puck while the other players came on but he just couldn't do it and that's how Svechnikov was able to score the OT winner in Price's five hole. Unfortunately, this one was on Gallagher but it's hard to be angry or annoyed with Gally, he just does so much for this team.
Quick notes:
-Both Drouin and Kotkaniemi played under 10 minutes tonight;
-At the opposite end of the spectrum, Max Domi played over 20 minutes...no wonder he was out of gas by the end of the game;
-On D, Petry, Weber and Mete all played over 20 minutes and in overtime, Petry seemed to always be on the ice;
-Price finished the night with 38 saves on 40 shots for a .950 save percentage.
Where does that leave the Habs? Well, the lone point they picked up tonight puts them 4 points ahead of Columbus in the second wild card spot BUT the Jackets have 2 games in hand. They will be facing the Canucks in a late game tonight and we can only hope that our western cousins, the Canucks are up to the test and will lend us a hand. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are 3 points clear of the Tricolore and still have a game in hand...chances of getting to the first wild card spot are looking thiner than cheap cold cuts. But hey,they did get 7 point out of a possible 8 this week...I guess we should count our blessings.
The Habs will be back on the ice on Tuesday to host the Florida Panthers in Montreal and needless to say they will NEED to win this game. Anyone remember that dreadful loss in Florida in February? They cannot afford a repeat performance. If you are at the Bell Centre Tuesday, be ready to scream you head off to try and pump up our team!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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