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RECAP | Canadiens – Blue Jackets: Tatar, Price Lead Habs Past CBJ

Rick Stephens
FINAL | Game 49, Away Game 25 | Friday January 18, 2019
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH

CANADIENS

Montreal

4-1

BLUE JACKETS

Columbus
(AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

 

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines  

Tomas Tatar – Max Domi – Artturi Lehkonen

Jonathan Drouin – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

 Matthew Peca – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia 

Kenny Agostino – Michael Chaput – Nicolas Deslauriers

Defense pairings

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

Mike Reilly – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Jordie Benn

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Antti Niemi  

Scratches

Karl Alzner, Charles Hudon

Injuries

Andrew Shaw, Paul Byron (suspension)

Game Report

After failing to improve the Canadiens defence in the off-season, Marc Bergevin went out of his way to claim that the team’s early season success had nothing to do with Carey Price. The sycophants in the main stream media dutifully followed and a false narrative was created.

While the Canadiens offence was in high gear in October, they were prone to cooling their jets in the latter half of the game turning things over to their franchise netminder.

When the offence dried up as November came to a close, Price was there again this time bolstered by the return of Shea Weber. Since then it has been the Shea and Carey show leading the Habs as they marched their way up the standings.

Tonight was no different. As the Canadiens offence sputtered, Price bailed out his team with one spectacular save after another. Stretching from the first to second period, Montreal went over 17 minutes without a shot on Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.

Bookending that shot drought, Tomas Tatar provided all the goal scoring that the Canadiens would need netting his 15th and 16th goals of the season.

Playing a high tempo game to mask the issues on defence early in the season took its toll. The wins have continued but not without reverting to that familiar style of play. Montreal is disproportionately relying on goaltending as the All-Star break nears. 

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Tomas Tatar, Shea Weber, Artturi Lehkonen, Max Domi

▼  Brett Kulak, Jonathan Drouin, Jordie Benn, Phillip Danault

The Numbers

 Game Statistics 
CANADIENS   BLUE JACKETS
26 Shots 35
46 Face-off % 54
0-for-3 Power Play 0-for-2
4 Penalty Minutes 6
16 Hits 18
48 Corsi For 53
 Scoring Summary
 FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
 Canadiens (27-17-5) 1 1 2 – – 4
 Blue Jackets (28-16-3) 0 0 1 – – 1
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Tatar (15), Tatar (16), Armia (5), Armia (6)
  • CBJ: Bjorkstrand (7)   
  • MTL: Price (W) 19-13-4
  • CBJ: Korpisalo (L) 9-3-2

Stars of the Game

 NHL Official Three Stars
  1. Tomas Tatar  MTL
  2. Carey Price  MTL
  3. Oliver Bjorkstrand  CBJ

Watch

 Video Highlights 
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What Did They Say?

 Post-game Quotes
Claude Julien  
  • “I liked the way our team handled the third period. We didn’t stop playing but we didn’t give them much. We closed the play quickly. We got the pucks in deep. We were doing the right things.”
  • “[Carey Price] made big saves close to the net. He moves the puck well, too, which gives us the option of having a third defenseman out there, so to speak.”

Tomas Tatar

  • “This is a tough building to play in. They have a great team on the other side, and I think we just proved that we can play against anybody.”

Phillip Danault

  • “(Carey) Price was always solid. He made saves at key times. It’s the Carey we know.”

Carey Price

  • “We’re not really focused on what the [Maple] Leafs are doing. We’re just trying to put points on the board and keep going.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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