Canadiens Lineup

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Artturi Lehkonen – Max Domi – Joel Armia

Nick Cousins – Nick Suzuki – Jordan Weal

Ryan Poehling – Nate Thompson – Riley Barber

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry

Mike Reilly – Cale Fleury

Carey Price – Charlie Lindgren

Christian Folin, Lukas Vejdemo

Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Victor Mete, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Matthew Peca

Game Report

“(It’s the) holiday spirit, I guess.”

Those are the words of Carey Price, when asked why he has been so dominant in the month of December throughout his career. That was certainly the case tonight at the Rogers Centre as Price made 38 saves leading his team to a 3-1 win over the Canucks. It was the fifth straight game that Price had allowed two goals or less. 

In a game when the Canucks had the edge in puck possession, Price stood tall robbing numerous Vancouver shooters J.T. Miller (twice). The Canucks outshot the Habs every period and came in waves.

“It’s always special to play in front of family,” said Price. He noted that fans came from up north to support him and the Canadiens.

Apart from another spectacular performance by Price, Habs fans were energized on social media by the officiating. For the appetizer, there was a phantom tripping call on Tomas Tatar. But the coup de grâce was disallowing a goal by Joel Amia who swept the puck into the net while Artturi Lehkonen was parked at the lip of the crease.

The ruling by NHL Hockey Operations stated, “It was determined that the actions of Montreal’s Artturi Lehkonen impaired Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom’s ability to play his position in the crease.”

So, keep this new standard in mind when any goaltender is screened on a scoring play. Credit Lehkonen for going strong to the net but stopping short even while he was being pushed towards Jacob Markstrom. The ruling, helped by the war room was clearly ridiculous and only serves to further obscure the distinction between goaltender interference and a good goal.

It was a statement game by Price, Shea Weber, and the Canadiens making a great start on their western road trip.

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Joel Armia, Shea Weber, Artturi Lehkonen, Max Domi, Cale Fleury

▼  Riley Barber, Jordan Weal, Nate Thompson