All Habs GameDay: Saturday April 13, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1944 – Toe Blake scored the game winner at 9:12 of OT and added four assists, as Montreal beat Chicago 5-4 in Game 4 of the Finals to win the 1944 Stanley Cup.

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

TOP SCORERS

► Home rink hasn’t been an advantage: 

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• The Canadiens currently sit 2nd in the East with 57 points, one point ahead of the Boston Bruins and five behind the conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins.
• The Maple Leafs are currently fifth in the East with 49 points, seven points behind the Bruins and only one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators who’ve played an extra game.
• Carey Price will be back in the net for the Canadiens after getting a night off against the Sabres on Thursday. This season, he’s 1-2-0 against the Leafs, with a goals against average of 3.36 and a save percentage of .870 per cent.

► Alex Galchenyuk keeps on rolling:

• We are seeing the emergence of what will be a star in the NHL in Alex Galchenyuk.
• The rookie had a strong performance against the Sabres and added a goal to his season total.
• Galchenyuk has now picked up at least one point in each of his last five games and has three goals and three assists over this period.

► Production from the blue line:

• In their last game against the Sabres, Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban both picked up a goal and an assist to help the Canadiens pick up the victory and two points in the standings.
• Markov now has 8 goals and 26 points on the season ranking fourth amongst Canadiens’ players.
• In Subban’s case, his 11 goals and 34 points tied him for first with Michael Ryder for most points amongst Canadiens’ players.
• Subban’s 34 points are five more than Ryan Suter who’s second amongst all NHL defencemen in points.
• Subban’s 11 goals also rank him first amongst all NHL defencemen, two more than both Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals.

► Rookie Watch:

• Thursday night against the Sabres, Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher had a goal in the Canadiens’ 5-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres.
• Gallagher totals 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points on the season.
• Galchenyuk now has 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points on the season.
• Respectively, they rank fifth and sixth for total points amongst rookies in the league.

Top 10 NHL Rookies / Total Points

1. Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA): 13G, 14A, 27PTS
2. Cory Conacher (TBL): 10G, 15A, 25PTS
3. Nail Yakupov (EDM): 10G, 13A, 23PTS
4. Brandon Saad (CHI): 9G, 14A, 23PTS
5. Brendan Gallagher (MTL): 12G, 10A, 22PTS
6. Alex Galchenyuk (MTL): 6G, 15A, 21PTS
7. Justin Schultz (EDM): 6G, 14A, 20PTS
8. Mike Zibanejab (OTT): 6G, 13A, 19PTS
9. Alex Killorn (TBL): 7G, 11A, 18PTS
10. Jakob Silfverberg (OTT): 8G, 9A, 17PTS

Subban:

• “It was a character game for us. We knew what was at stake,” said Subban. “Winning’s fun. It feels good to win. For the guys that were here last year, obviously, we know what it’s like to lose.”

Peter Budaj:

• “I’m very thankful to be part of this team,” admitted Budaj. “We outshot them. We outplayed them. I don’t want to take anything away from Buffalo, but we played a much better game.”

Michel Therrien:

• “We’re proud about making the playoffs. It’s a good accomplishment. We realize that there’s a lot of hockey to be played, and there’s more steps coming.”