Home All Habs Rewind All Habs Rewind – Week 20: Lady Luck Smiles on Habs

All Habs Rewind – Week 20: Lady Luck Smiles on Habs

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All Habs Rewind – Week 20: Lady Luck Smiles on Habs
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

by Amy Johnson, Video Producer/Editor and Sara, Video Editor, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONTREAL, QC – Need to get caught up on Habs highlights? Want to relive the memorable moments of the past week?

Then All Habs Rewind is for you.

Every Sunday watch the most unforgettable goals, saves, hits by your Montreal Canadiens compiled by our video production team! Then tell us which one you liked most in the comments section below.

With Carey Price helping to bring home the gold medal for Team Canada in the Winter Olympics, Habs fans were more ready than ever to see him and the rest of their favorite NHL team back on the ice to continue the season.  Unfortunately, Price aggravated an injury during the Olympic stretch and, although he wasn’t slated to start in the first game back, it was confirmed that he would be out for a couple of games to heal.  That meant Peter Budaj would take center stage in front of the net for the Canadiens this week, as they kicked things off on home ice with a tilt against the Detroit Red Wings and head coach Mike Babcock.  Babcock was the popular gold medal-winning coach for Team Canada, but on this night it was back to business.  It became apparent very quickly that the players had been off the ice for a couple weeks, gameplay was slow, sluggish, and sloppy.  P.K. Subban found himself in the penalty box for both of the Detroit goals, and although Brian Gionta was able to tie the game at 1-1 in the waning seconds of regulation, the Red Wings sealed the deal with a last minute goal in overtime to take the victory.  Final score: Red Wings, 2-1 (OT). (Read our full recap here: Habs Awake From Slumber to Grab a Point)

The next night found the Canadiens on the road, traveling to Pittsburgh for a matchup against the Penguins.  With Budaj still handling goaltending duties, the Habs called up Dustin Tokarski from Hamilton to back him up.  Brendan Gallagher put the visiting team on the board in the first period, kicking off a series of back-and-forth goals between the two teams over the course of the game.  The second period brought a goal from Danny Briere and a power play goal from Max Pacioretty, while Alexei Emelin put one in the net in the third period.  Briere scored a power play goal late in the game to tie the score and force overtime.  Eventually it came down to a shootout to determine this one, and with David Desharnais potting the only goal the Habs came out on top.  Final score: Canadiens, 6-5 (SO). (Read our full recap here: Habs Ride Good Fortune to Shootout Win)

Returning to the Bell Centre on Saturday night the Canadiens found themselves facing their rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Alex Galchenyuk and Pacioretty scored two quick goals in the opening 20 minutes to give the Habs a solid lead.  Defensively, the Canadiens succeeded in tying up the Leafs’ forwards, not allowing them to get a single shot on goal for most of the first period.  But they seemed to back off the pressure as the game went on and the Leafs were able to net two quick goals in the third, including a short-handed goal by James van Riemsdyk.  Subban managed to tie the game on a power play to force overtime yet again.  It was the third time in as many games that the Habs didn’t finish in regulation time.  Pacioretty finished things off with his second goal of the night in the extra period to give Montreal back-to-back wins.  Final score: Canadiens, 4-3 (OT). (Read our full recap here: Habs Overcome Mistakes to Down Maple Leafs)

The Canadiens now head off on a four-game road trip to the Western Conference, starting with a game in Los Angeles Monday night against the Kings. Until then, we’ve got plenty of content to keep you busy reading about your favourite team! In case you missed them, here are a few fantastic articles published earlier this week:

Olympic Hockey: Anything But Boring

Would Paul Stastny in Montreal Make Sense?

Down on the Farm – Playoff Flame Dwindling

RSM Welcomes Ghosts of the Montreal Forum

All Habs Three Weekly Stars

(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

1st Star:  Andrei Markov

Markov has been the most consistent Habs defenceman with P.K. Subban struggling since his return from the Olympics. Markov posted five assists this week.

2nd Star:  Max Pacioretty

Max Pacioretty continues to lead Canadiens goal scorers by a wide margin with 29 goals. Pacioretty added three goals and an assist this week.

3rd Star:  Alex Galchenyuk

Alex Galchenyuk scored his first goal since being sidelined for six weeks with a broken hand. Galchenyuk provided a spark to the Habs struggling offense and provided a better balance to the line combinations.

Who was your player of the week?