by Taylor McIlwaine , Digital Media Producer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
TORONTO, ON.– Talk about epic goaltending.
On Thursday night the Canadiens played their first home game of the season, the 98th in franchise history, with the hope that they could continue their winning streak.
As any game between the Rangers and the Habs goes, there was a lot of emphasis placed on goaltending. In a battle of Carey Price versus Henrik Lundqvist, It was our number 31 who took home the shutout, helping the Canadiens make history. The Habs have never started a season on a 5-game winning streak- hard to believe, but true nonetheless.
“We have a pretty confident group of guys here. We’ve always felt confident in our abilities and it’s paying off.” – Carey Price
This is a team that Montreal is and should be very excited and hopeful about. “They schooled us. You have to give the Canadiens credit; they gave us a lesson in every area of the game,” admitted Rangers coach Alain Vigneault.
Here’s a look at some of the best moments from Thursday night’s matchup against the Rangers.
Carey kicked things off with ease, as only he is able to do, making it evident that this game would be no different than other match-ups against the Rangers for him.
Early in the first, David Desharnais took quite a theatrical tumble in front of Lundqvist in an effort to find the back of the net.
Followed closely by a speedy breakaway attempt by Captain Max Pacioretty, who, unfortunately, found the boards rather than the back of the net.
Another great shot by the offensive line, this time from Alex Galchenyuk who has been seeing great success in his new role as centre with Lars Eller and Alexander Semin.
In the 2nd period, Tomas Fleischmann got one past Lundqvist, putting the Canadiens on the board, making it 1-0.
It bares so much repeating that Carey is the best goaltender in the league world.
In an epic and incredibly memorable hockey moment, Carey Price got the revenge he deserved, and the whole city didn’t even know they wanted, when he laid out Chris Kreider. Kreider infamously took Price out of the 2013-2014 playoffs when he went barrelling into him in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Lundqvist was not going to be shown up by Price, at least not without a fight.
Another great save by Price, he was up and down faster than lightning, all while seemingly maintaining complete composure and focus. Superhuman.
Dale Weise scored his first goal of the season, advancing the Canadiens lead to 2-0 late in the 3rd period.
If there is one wish for this season, let’s make it winning a Stanley Cup, obviously, however, can it also start being cool to love Weise, please? The guy clearly just loves playing hockey and playing hockey for this team.
In the final moments of the 3rd period, Tomas Plekanec sent the puck down the ice to drive the victory home with an empty net goal, bringing the final score to 3-0 and making franchise history.
CAREY! CAREY! CAREY!
Next up, the Canadiens will get a visit from the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Will they make it 6-0-0, because it sure feels like they’re more than capable.