Montreal 3 Ottawa 0 (Scotiabank Place)
MONTREAL, QC.–Score first. Could it be so simple? The Canadiens have now four wins in regulation time when netting the first goal, two losses when trailing first.
Not so fast. Obviously a few other ingredients have been crucial to the team’s success.
Carey Price has made every start this season and his stellar goaltending has given the Habs an opportunity to win every game. Tonight he stoned Daniel Alfredsson and the Senators with solid positional play and several spectacular stops. This was one night removed from Alfredsson’s three-goal performance against Ryan Miller in reaching the 1000 point plateau.
Andrei Kostitsyn lit the red light twice and now leads the Canadiens with four goals. Kostitsyn has been left alone this year to do what he does best: score goals. He has created turnovers and been dominant on the puck.
With an assist, Tomas Plekanec is tied for the scoring lead with Kostitsyn. Both have six points. Plekanec is bringing his usual give-it-all effort to every game but this season has emerged as one the Habs quiet leaders.
I have to admit to smiling that these are the Canadiens three stars this far in the season.
Each player has come into this season with something to prove. Price and Kostitsyn have both been unfairly maligned by mainsteam media and fans alike. Plekanec would like to prove that GM Pierre Gauthier was correct when choosing him over Jaroslav Halak as he emptied his cap-restricted wallet.
Let’s add an honorable mention to Jeff Halpern who wins the value-for-money award. Against Ottawa, Halpern was 67 per cent at the faceoff dot — the next most successful Canadiens center was Lars Eller at 33 per cent. Halpern has been a key to penalty-killing efficiency and has chipped in offensively with two goals and as assist.
As a Canadiens fan, allow yourself to dream a little about the this team with a power-play that isn’t last in the league at 4.2 percent and a second line that is contributing to the offense.
Plus/Minus
▲ P.K. Subban had his best game of the year with four shots, an assist and a team-high four hits. He also got under the skin of the Senators which led to the Habs first goal as they targeted him.
▲ Jaroslav Spacek and Roman Hamrlik are most comfortable when paired together. They quietly had a solid defensive game.
► Mike Cammalleri is diligently working through a mild slump. With five shots on goal tonight, he appears poised for a break-out.
► Benoit Pouliot will hopefully derive some confidence from his goal. Not to nit-pick, but I would have been more impressed if he had deflected the puck while screening in front. If Josh Gorges wasn’t three-feet wide with his point shot, Pouliot would have been out of position at the side of the net (again).
▼ Alexandre Picard was on the wrong side of physical punishment all game. He did not make good decisions on coverage or when to pinch and was bailed out by Price on more than one occasion.
▼ Jacques Martin said that he wanted Eller to get more involved in the offense by playing center. Martin assigned him to fourth-line duty with Mathieu Darche and Travis Moen where Eller played nine shifts, the fewest of any Habs player. Swim with several anchors, son!
I’ll add that I hope that media members who contend that Eller plays soft had their eyes open tonight when the rookie destroyed Peter Regin with a devastating check.
The Canadiens get together at noon on Sunday in Brossard for a meeting and perhaps a light skate. They play four games next week with the first on Monday as they host Phoenix.
Post-game quote:
“I felt horrible this morning. I didn’t feel that good during the pre-game skate.” — Carey Price after shutting out the Senators
All Habs game stars:
1. Carey Price
2. Andrei Kostitsyn
3. P.K. Subban
Roster notes:
Ryan O’Byrne and Dustin Boyd were healthy scratches. Andrei Markov was out with a knee injury. Markov is expected to return next Wednesday for the game against the Islanders.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Fred Chartrand)