GameDay: Capitals vs Habs Preview, Lineups, Price, Galchenyuk, Rookies

All Habs GameDay: Saturday April 20, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1958 – Bernie Geoffrion scored twice and added an assist as the Canadiens beat Boston 5-3 in Game 6 of the Finals, to win their third straight Stanley Cup.

PROJECTED LINE COMBINATIONS AND GOALTENDERS
(Will be updated following game day skate.)

TOP SCORERS

► Building back the confidence: 

• It’s no secret that the confidence of the Montreal Canadiens had been rattled after losing three consecutive games by the scores of 5-1 (Toronto Maple Leafs), 7-3 (Philadelphia Flyers) and 6-4 (Pittsburgh Penguins).
• The 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday helped bring some of that confidence back, and the Canadiens hope to continue in this direction on Saturday against the Washington Capitals, who are 8-1-1 in their last ten games.
• This will be the Canadiens’ last home game of the regular season before the Habs close out their season with three consecutive road games.
• This season, the Canadiens had beaten the Capitals 4-1 way back on January 24 at the Verizon Center but had then lost 3-2 at the Bell Centre in Montreal earlier this month on April 9.
• The Capitals have only lost one game in regulation in their last ten, but they happen to be coming to Montreal on the heels of this loss, 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators Thursday night.

► Solid performance by Carey Price:

• The past week was particularly difficult for Carey Price, giving up 15 goals over the span of three incomplete games.
• He was back in great form against the Lightning, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced, including 28 of 29 at even-strength.
• He ended the night with a save percentage of 0.941 per cent but the key saves he made at crucial moments in the game were what really stood out that night.

► Alex Galchenyuk, just wow:

• Remember not too long ago when we’re talking about Alex Galchenyuk’s point production, or lack there of I should say? He sure has quieted those conversations down.
• Galchenyuk scored on Thursday against the Lightning and it was his third consecutive game with a goal.
• It was also his sixth goal in the last eight games and he has a point per game average over his last nine.
• He is now one point behind Nail Yakupov (Edmonton Oilers), Brandon Saad (Chicago Blackhawks) and teammate Brendan Gallagher who are tied for third amongst rookies in points, all with 25.

► Rookie Watch:

• Thursday night, Alex Galchenyuk found the back of the net while Brendan Gallagher had an assist in the 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• Gallagher totals 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points on the season.
• Galchenyuk now has 9 goals and 15 assists for 24 points on the season.
• Respectively, they rank third and sixth for total points amongst rookies in the league.

Top 10 NHL Rookies / Total Points

1. Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA): 14G, 14A, 28PTS
2. Cory Conacher (TBL): 11G, 16A, 27PTS
3. Brendan Gallagher (MTL): 13G, 12A, 25PTS
4. Nail Yakupov (EDM): 10G, 14A, 25PTS
5. Brandon Saad (CHI): 10G, 15A, 25PTS
6. Alex Galchenyuk (MTL): 9G, 15A, 24PTS
7. Justin Schultz (EDM): 7G, 16A, 23PTS
8. Mike Zibanejab (OTT): 7G, 13A, 20PTS
9. Alex Killorn (TBL): 7G, 12A, 19PTS
10. Marcus Foligno (BUF): 5G, 13A, 18PTS

Carey Price:

• “I feel pretty good,” said Price.

  “It was a bit of a tough week, obviously, when you get 18 goals scored on you in three games. It’s tough, but as a professional, you have to keep battling through it.

• “I spoke to my dad about it and he said there’s no short cut. If there was, someone would have figured it out by now. The only way is to keep working.”

• “It’s tough as a goaltender here,” Price added. “It can be nerve-racking, but I’ve got a lot of experience dealing with this type of situation. You just have to take a step back, relax, put in some honest work. Usually bad times don’t hang around too long.”

Michel Therrien:

• “I’m really satisfied and proud of Carey Price,” Therrien said. “He bounced back. It was lucky at times, but you need some breaks to win.”