Montreal 0 New Jersey 3 (Bell Centre)

by Rick Stephens, AllHabs.net

MONTREAL, QC.–Four days without a game allowed the Canadiens time for rest and practise. For fans, expectations grew that the team would be able to continue their good start over the first five games.

Perhaps that’s why the result was such a disappointment for all.

The game itself was a dud. A snooze-fest. The Devils are struggling to produce offense this season. On Thursday night, the Canadiens generated less.

Toss out the shots advantage for the Habs. The Devils had more scoring chances, by far. Carey Price was equal to the test making a handful of mostly glove saves that would have been described as larcenous by Danny Gallivan.

New Jersey’s goals were each somewhat quirky: an uncharacteristic giveaway by Josh Gorges behind the net led to the first; an unlucky bounce off Dustin Boyd for the second goal; and a seeing eye shot from the point through a mass of players resulted in the third.

So what did we learn from this game?

1. Despite his struggles this season, Martin Brodeur cannot be beat by perimeter shots without traffic in front of the net. For the first two periods he wasn’t tested. In the third when the result was already determined, Brodeur made some nice saves to preserve his shutout.

2. Brodeur helped his cause as much with his acting skills as his goaltending, embellishing light bumps from Brian Gionta. With the help of referee Stephane Auger, the Devils parlayed the contact into two power-play opportunities.

3. While Gary Bettman is focused on policing the use of Facebook by referees, little is being done to improve the quality of the officiating in the NHL which can approach the level of the CFL on some nights. Such was the case in this game. Perhaps Canucks forward Alexandre Burrows was on to something when he accused referee Auger of calling a game based on personal grudges.

4. The Canadiens power-play stinks! Now 1-for-20, the Habs have lost the lethal weapon, that last year, was the difference-maker in many games. With Yannick Weber tearing it up with the Bulldogs (4 goals, 4 assists in 4 games), one wonders why the hardest point shot in the organization is in Hamilton?

5. Say what you will about Andrei Markov being the solution to the power-play woes. Mike Cammalleri has no power-play points in five games and hasn’t looked like himself. He will have become a threat again to draw attention from penalty-killers.

6. Tom Pyatt is not a top-six forward. While he wasn’t a liability and didn’t embarass himself, his style isn’t a good fit with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. The silly carousel to audition left-wingers for the second-line should be coming to an end as coach Jacques Martin is close to exhausting the assortment of fourth line pluggers.

7. Jacques Martin is a proud and stubborn coach. With the calls to add Lars Eller to the second line becoming deafening, Martin chose Pyatt. In the third period, when it was painfully obvious that the coach had erred, he moved Cammalleri to the second line rather than admit his mistake. Eller played with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn.

In pre-season, it was the Gomez, Gionta and Eller trio who had shown signs of developing chemistry.

8. Hal Gill is built for the playoffs. He can be effective in a managed role during the season when playing 14 or 15 minutes a game. Against the Devils, Gill played close to 20 minutes and was minus-three.

9. Other teams can block shots too. Andy Greene doing his best Gill-impression blocked eight shots for the Devils. The Canadiens must do a better job finding shooting lanes, particularly from the point.

10. Roman Hamrlik is the king of clearing the puck over the glass. He took a delay of game penalty near the end of the second period when he flipped the puck into the crowd. Hamrlik is on track to retain his title earned last year when he led the league with five delay of game penalties for a puck over the glass.

***

The Canadiens can be successful against teams like New Jersey by using their speed to be first on the puck. They must do a better job of creating second-chance opportunities around the net. It’s crucial that the power-play gets on track and becomes a weapon that the opposition must fear.

The Canadiens play next on Saturday night in Ottawa against the Senators.

Post-game quote:

“There’s no secret to it. I just like playing here.” — Martin Brodeur on playing in Montreal.

All Habs game stars:

1. Carey Price
2. Brian Gionta
3. P.K. Subban

Roster notes:

Ryan O’Byrne and Mathieu Darche were healthy scratches. Andrei Markov was out with a knee injury. Markov is expected to return next Wednesday for the game against the Islanders.

(photo by AP)