by Craig Ostrin, Special to AllHabs.net
ST. LOUIS, MO.– People will want to make the Canadiens’ loss in St. Louis about the goalies: Jaroslav Halak, Montreal’s playoff hero, facing off against his former backup and Montreal’s new champion, Carey Price.
But Habs fans looking for evidence that we traded the wrong guy will be disappointed. While Halak was solid all night, Price bailed his team out of many tough spots—not a few of them caused by soft play by Alexandre Picard. Price gave up some juicy rebounds in the first period, but none of them saw the back of the net thanks to Montreal’s proactive defense.
Instead, the story of the game was Montreal’s lack of focus. The Habs started out slow, still adjusting to the line changes following the Max Pacioretty’s severe injury on Tuesday night. The offense had a hard time finding their rhythm, and they had trouble setting up on the power play.
The Habs’ only goal came in the first period from the unlikely combination of Jeff Halpern, Picard, and Paul Mara. Picard made a nice pass through traffic to Halpern for the tip-in.
A quick shot off a Habs-zone face-off trickled by Price, tying the game 1-1 at the end of the first period. The Blues’ second and third goals would come from pointless turnovers by Habs players. Former Canadien Matt D’Agostini picked Benoit Pouliot’s pocket in the Habs’ own end and swung it to the wide-open Andy McDonald to put the Blues up 2-1 at the start of the second period.
Scott Gomez made a soft pass into the neutral zone that led to a Blues 2-on-1. Subban picked up the puck-carrier McDonald, but the Blues forward found D’Agostini in front of the net, sealing the game 3-1 for the Blues in the final minutes of the third period. The last goal was an empty-netter by T.J. Oshie.
Both turnovers were unnecessary and could have been easily avoided. It’s hard to forgive these game-losing mistakes when Pouliot and Gomez were practically irrelevant all game. With two shots, Michael Cammalleri also felt invisible on the ice, despite playing almost 20 minutes.
Captain Brian Gionta had three shots and led the Habs with four hits, with one particularly big one late in the third, showing his team that even the smallest players can have a physical impact on the game.
David Desharnais was the Habs’ best on the face-off, winning 7 of 11. He played an energetic game and made his presence felt, though it won’t show up in the stats. He had a chance to get on the scoreboard on a 2-on-1 short-handed break but waited too long with his shot.
Andrei Kostitsyn was another player whose game stats don’t tell the whole story. His minus-2 comes from Gomez’s turnover and Oshie’s empty-netter, but his tough play and aggressive forechecking gave the Habs extra chances on offense.
St. Louis played fast, aggressive hockey, though they were hampered by many offside calls. They were opportunistic, always looking for the fast break—and getting quite a few. James Wisniewski broke up the 2-on-1 pass on one such rush. Roman Hamrlik and P.K. Subban were also instrumental in stopping rushes, blocking shots, and clearing the net in front of Price.
Blues winger B.J. Crombeen received a rare goalie interference penalty early in the first period, but Blues players were jostling and falling on Price all game long. It seemed they would literally have to punch him in the face in order to get another penalty.
At one point, Price had enough of the harassment and shoved Blues star Oshie off-balance after clearing the puck behind his net.
The Blues often had trouble getting the puck out of their zone, with Montreal’s first goal arriving after an extended stay in the offensive end. It was a fast-paced, exciting game that would have been very close if not for the disappointing turnovers by Pouliot and Gomez.
Scratches: Brent Sopel, Yannick Weber
Max Pacioretty was out with a severe concussion and fractured vertebrae
1st period
Picard caught out of position, giving up scary breakaway.
Price offered unusual number of juicy rebounds, but none of them scored
Not bad first period. Habs came out looking slow, still adjusting to the line mixup after the Pacioretty injury. Blues goal comes quick off the face-off, Price thought he had it but it trickled in
2nd period
Terrible, pointless turnover by Pouliot right in front of the net leads to Blues second goal
Powerplay – Habs played four forwards, couldn’t get set up. Switched back to 3-2 alignment
Do you have to punch Price in the face to get a call?
Picard intercepts and then puts it right back on the Blues’ stick
Pouliot soft all night
Wiz made key defensive play to stop the 2-on-1 one-timer pass
Blues so aggressive and opportunistic, but hampered by off-sides all game
“Did you see that?” Price pushing Blues star T.J. Oshie off-balance behind the net
Desharnais with great energy. Had a good chance on a 2-on-1 but waited too long with his shot (during a PK). Halak had it covered.
3rd period
Wiz with big hits in both ends at start of the third
Kostitsyn tough and energetic all game. Forechecking giving the Habs extra opportunities
Hamrlik clutch rebound in last five minutes that would’ve sealed the game
Gionta with big hit with three minutes left. Physical game for him. Setting an example
Gomez with a truly awful pass in the neutral zone to end the game
(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)