CANADIENS
Montreal

SENATORS
Ottawa

Game Report

There’s a long way to go yet in this series. But it’s a ‘job well done’ for the Canadiens who won both games in the Bell Centre to take a 2-0 lead.  The other three playoff series that began on Wednesday are each tied 1-1. With potentially five games left, the Senators must win four to take the series.

All the talk prior to the game was about who would play. Despite all of his pre-game bluster tough-guy Chris Neil watched from the press box.  And despite the Senators inventing the new term “microfracture” to lobby for a suspension for P.K. Subban, the wonder-boy Mark Stone was in his regular spot on the first line. Stone played just under 19 minutes, had power-play and penalty-kill shifts and registered two assists.  The treatment for his bone bruise (the preferred diagnosis by medical professionals) seemed effective.

For the Canadiens, Max Pacioretty was an obvious upgrade on P.A. Parenteau who sat out with an upper body injury suffered in Game 1.  Pacioretty began the game tentatively but had a goal and came close to scoring a second.  Having P.K. Subban back for the full game provided a big boost to the offense. Subban had a goal on 13 shot attempts.

Brendan Gallagher was a determined young player picking up an assist on his 14 shot attempts. Gallagher also had four hits.

The Canadiens were outhit on a nightly basis throughout the regular season. They have been outhit in this series too. But they deserve credit for registering 83 hits in two games against Ottawa.  Jeff Petry led the way with six hits.

The Lars Eller line has been dominant on almost every shift this series. The trio of Eller, Jacob de la Rose and Dale Weise are wearing down their opponents. Eller drew two penalties in this game.  This could become more of a factor as the series goes along as the Senators face tough minutes playing against the Eller line.

It is somewhat deflating though that after hard work leads to an Ottawa penalty, the power-play opportunity is squandered.  If the same scenario happens in Ottawa, the Senators will get a momentum boost propelled by the Canadian Tire Centre fans.

It’s clear that the Hamburglar is happy that the series is moving back to Ottawa. Andrew Hammond has looked rattled at times in the intimidating confines of the Bell Centre. Hammond was better in Game 2, but in the playoffs allowing a couple of soft goals just won’t cut it regardless of the number of saves made.

At the other end of the rink, it amusing that it is now somewhat fashionable to contend that Carey Price hasn’t played a significant role in this series. That’s nonsense. Setting aside Andrei Markov’s friendly-fire in game one, Price has surrendered just one even strength goal in over 123 minutes of play.  In Friday night’s game, Price’s toe save on Mika Zibanejad should not have been possible.

▲     Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Devante Smith-Pelly, Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk, Jeff Petry, Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban

▼     Nathan Beaulieu

1.  P.K. Subban  MTL
2.  Max Pacioretty  MTL
3.  Andrew Hammond  OTT

• “He played like P.K. Subban is capable of playing. He scored a big goal, he was a leader out there and he played a solid game.”
• “[Max Pacioretty] is another important player for us. He scored a big goal. He didn’t look like a guy who probably missed two weeks.  He didn’t look like he missed a beat for his first playoff game.”
• “We have to appreciate tonight’s win. And starting tomorrow we’re going to focus on Game 3.”

Max Pacioretty

• “I really found my game during the second period. Our line built up some momentum and I don’t think I could have asked for anything more during my first playoff game this year.”
• “It was really amazing to score that goal. I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated like that on the ice. It’s always special to score here. I wanted to play my first game back at home. The support I get from the crowd here is amazing. I can’t thank everyone – the fans, the coaches – enough for all the support they’ve shown me. I’ve never felt like more of a part of this city and this team.”

Alex Galchenyuk

• “[Max Pacioretty] makes a difference. We definitely missed him out there during Game 1. He’s a physical presence, he has an incredible shot, and he’s so dangerous with the puck. It was a great feeling for our entire team to see him get a goal in his first game back.”
• “It’s great to get an OT goal. It’s always nice to get one, but I don’t sit around and think about that. Time will tell when you can rate those kinds of goals.”

P.K. Subban

• “I didn’t play the whole first game and I wanted to be better. I had to be. I don’t think I did a good enough job of setting an example (to teammates) in the first game.”
• “Our mission is to get better with every game in the playoffs. Now it’s about us preparing to go into another building and playing our best hockey.”
• “I think of myself as a player who steps up in big games and makes a difference. I always felt that the more pressure people put on me, the better I’ll play. I wanted to be better tonight for my teammates.”

Senators coach Dave Cameron

• “The reality is we’re down two games and we have to find a way to win. During our streak, we didn’t look at how far we were back. We won. That’s the focus now. To find a way to win.”
• “I thought we were under control. Both teams were, which I expected. There’s too much at stake to let one incident dictate the series. We put too much work in to get here so it’s not surprising that both teams were disciplined tonight.”
• “Obviously I would have liked a save there but we can’t turn [the puck] over to give them a bang-bang play like that (on the overtime winner.)”