All Habs Playoff GameDay: Friday May 3, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1973 – Henri Richard set an NHL Stanley Cup record for most career playoff games, as the Canadiens lost 7-4 to Chicago in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Richard broke the record of 164 held by Red Kelly.

PROJECTED LINE COMBINATIONS AND GOALTENDERS
(Will be updated following game day skate.)

TOP SCORERS

► The first game slips away:

• The Montreal Canadiens were up 2-1 after two periods and dominating the shot clock against Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators; It all appeared to be going so well for the Habs.
• Then, the wheels fell off the Habsmobile.
• The Canadiens were without Lars Eller for the latter part of the second and entire third periods after he was knocked unconscious following a vicious hit by Eric Gryba of the Ottawa Senators.
• Eller would leave the ice on a stretcher and was later diagnosed with a concussion, facial injuries and some left overs for the tooth fairy. It’s uncertain when he will return to the lineup.
• The Habs could not extend their lead during a 5-on-3 powerplay and that, combined with the emotion of Eller’s injury, seemed to drain the life out of them and the Bell Centre.
• The Canadiens appeared on their heels to start the third period and a a soft goal allowed by Carey Price, through the legs on a shot from the top of the circle partially deflected by Josh Gorges didn’t help the situation one bit.
• Price and the Habs would give up three goals in the third to their none, and lose the game by the score of 4-2.
• The line of David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty and Michael Ryder offered nothing and were, for the most part, invisible.
• The story of the night was Craig Anderson, who stopped 48 of 50 shots thrown at him by the Canadiens. Other than Brendan Gallagher, the Canadiens did not establish a net presence.
• Goal scorers for the Habs were Brendan Gallagher and Rene Bourque while Marc Methot, Erik Karlsson, Jakob Silfverberg and Guillaume Latendresse found the back of the net for the Senators.

► Eight Rookies get a taste of the playoffs:

• There were eight rookies on the ice for this first playoff game between the Canadiens and the Senators and for the most part, they did rather well.
• For the Canadiens, Brendan Gallagher scored his first ever playoff goal and had a team high eight shots on goal while line mate Alex Galchenyuk picked up an assist and had three shots on goal. Jarred Tinordi played a solid 12 minutes, picked up three shots on goal, had a hit and a blocked shot.
• For the Senators, Jakob Silfverberg was the most utilized rookie with 14:46 in ice time and he made the most of it picking up a goal and an assist with four shots on goal. Mika Zibanejad also had two points picking up two assists on the night and added a hit and two blocked shots. Calder candidate Cory Conacher had a more limited role receiving only 9:17 in ice time but he did manage to pick up a shot, three hits and a blocked shot. Jean-Gabriel Pageau stood out at the face off circle for the wrong reasons, finishing the night 3/13 at the face off circle. Finally we have Eric Gryba whose stats were limited to a hit (I think we remember which one) and 15 minutes in penalties.
• Eight rookies with an impact.

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• “We played a good game and we deserved a better fate. We had 50 shots on net. It doesn’t happen often that you get 50 shots on net in the playoffs and end up losing the game,” explained Therrien. “Anderson was the story of the game. He played really well, but I’m very happy with the way we played tonight.
• “We started the game with intensity, we completely dominated the second period and the only reason we didn’t win was their goaltender,” added Therrien. “You need breaks to win games and the only thing we can control is our effort. I thought our effort tonight was good. We have to keep playing the same way.”

Brendan Gallagher

• “It was a very intense hockey game. Both sides are competitive teams and they play the right way. It was a good first game and hopefully we can continue to build on that,” explained Gallagher. “It’s nice that we can get back at it the next day and put this one behind us. When you go into the third period with a lead, you expect to win the game.”
  

Rene Bourque

• “We had a lot of shots where we were just throwing pucks at his feet and that’s what we wanted to do but we need to get more second and third opportunities in front of him,” shared Bourque. “We need guys driving. We had trouble in the third period getting pucks deep and getting quality chances. We have to be hungrier around the net. That’s the biggest thing we need to do tomorrow.”