All Habs Playoff GameDay: Sunday May 5, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1966 – Henri Richard scored the game winner at 2:20 of overtime (the only overtime goal of his playoff career) as Montreal beat Detroit 3-2 in Game Six, to win the 1966 Stanley Cup Championship.

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

TOP SCORERS

► A home game away for the Habs:

• It’s often been said that the Montreal Canadiens feel right at home when playing against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.
• That’s in large part due to the huge contingents of Habs’ fans that like to make their way to Scotiabank, which for most Montrealers is only less than a couple of hours away.
• This season, the Senators only lost six games at home and and came out victorious on both occasions when the Canadiens came to visit.
• So maybe the Habs don’t feel quite at home after all?

► Carey Price calms the waters:

• Carey Price needed a strong game against the Senators in game two of this series in order calm down the criticism in his regards, which had been quite venomous following the first game of this series.
• Price was strong and pushed away 29 of the 30 shots directed his way, finishing the night with a 0.967 save percentage.
• What impressed many was how he calmly skated to the bench after a collision with Tinordi in order to hand the trainer teeth that had been knocked out during the collision, after which he skated back to his net to continue the game.
• Turning point?

► Ryan White, how you can be so great when you want:

• Many people (myself included) thought Ryan White had played his last game with the Canadiens before he was suspended for five games by the NHL disciplinary committee for what was considered a hit to the head.
• It was therefore a surprise to me to see White get any ice time at all in the playoffs. He played one of his best games ever as a pro on Friday.
• Ryan White scored a goal as a result of what he does best when on his game, he hustled and kept his legs moving. After putting pressure on Erik Karlsson who was skating back towards his zone, he cause the latter to cough up the puck and White then poked the puck though Craig Anderson’s legs for the goal.
• What was most remarkable was just how well White was able to play his pest role, playing completely on the edge all while not going over it.
• If he continues to play in this manner, he could prove to be quite effective for the Canadiens if they push further into these playoffs.

► Habs get sendoff from a mate:

•  Habs got a welcome visit on Saturday from injured teammate Lars Eller before they headed to Ottawa. Coach Michel Therrien: “It was good to see him. He looks good. Well, ‘looks good’…he looked better before.”

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Coach Michel Therrien:

• “I’m not going to ask [my team] to bounce back. [I told them] play the same way. As a coach this is the only thing I ask.”
• “[My emotion] was not about the hit. The NHL dealt with that. It was about the comment, the lack of respect. That’s why I was upset.”
• “By the way, the number 61 is RAPHAEL DIAZ (said with emphasis.) Just in case sometime they don’t know.”
• Therrien answered a brief “don’t know” when asked if Max Pacioretty and Brian Gionta will be back on Sunday.

P.K. Subban:

• “That’s the thing about [Carey Price], when he decides he’s going to shut the door, he shuts it. And he locks it.”

Senators coach Paul MacLean:

• “We turned over pucks that ended up in our net. Any time of the year that’s a recipe for not winning.”
• “For us, I thought that the power-play was working better. But we didn’t get results.  We really could have used something from our power play tonight especially in the first period when we had three opportunities. I think that was a huge part of the game.”