CANADIENS
Montreal

ISLANDERS
New York

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings 

[one_half]Pacioretty – Galchenyuk – Gallagher
Lehkonen – Plekanec – Radulov
Byron – Desharnais – Shaw
Danault – Mitchell – Flynn[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Emelin – Weber
Markov – Petry
Beaulieu – Pateryn
[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders

Montoya
Price

Scratches

Daniel Carr, Mikhail Sergachev

Injured Reserve

Zach Redmond

Game Report

Canadiens fans are learning what it’s like to cheer for one of the best defencemen in the NHL. And they are loving Shea Weber. With 2:57 left in the third period, Weber teed up a rolling puck, sending a rocket to the back of the Islanders net for the game-winner (his second of the season.)

Weber had a power-play goal, an assist and was a plus-2. He is now a remarkable plus-12 in seven games. Tonight Shea also had time for three hits and to lead the team with four blocked shots.

While many fans let emotional bonds to a favorite player taint their initial reaction, most are coming around now. There are a few charlatans with a pre-conceived anti-Weber narrative trying to cobble together irrelevant digits to make their case. But then they weren’t right about Louis Leblanc either.

It’s early but it’s hard to ignore Weber’s impact during the Canadiens first seven games. In the past few years, no one but Carey Price has been able to take the team on his back and carry them to victory. Weber might be close.

It has allowed head coach Michel Therrien to trifle with the lines. But there will be a time this season when coaching will matter. Hopefully Kirk Muller is there to make the decision or whisper in Therrien’s ear.

Despite the strong start, the Canadiens are not yet firing on all cylinders. Stanley Cup contenders are strong down the middle but Habs centres are struggling. Alex Galchenyuk can’t win a faceoff, Tomas Plekanec is in a funk and there are at least three centres in St. John’s who are more talented than No. 51.

There’s a temptation at this point to ask the question: Is the 2016-17 edition of the Canadiens better than the version that went 14-3-2 in their first 19 games last season?

It’s hard to say. So far this season, we haven’t seen the team play a full 60 minutes nor have we seen the best from Galchenyuk, Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and Andrew Shaw. That said, Al Montoya has shored up the backup position, Alexander Radulov makes things happen and Artturi Lehkonen is a legitimate top-six winger.

And then there is Weber. In addition to his team-leading offence and shut-down defence, Weber has provided a strong example to the to the Canadiens defence corps. As a unit, they are performing much better than expected.

On paper, the team should be better. Team attitude (business-like) is better and leadership is much stronger. And Muller is a smart-hockey mind.

Last season, the collapse happened in December after coach Therrien panicked and replaced Galchenyuk on the top line with David Desharnais. Tonight, for the first time this season, we saw the coach return to his favorite, unproductive duo: Pacioretty with Desharnais. If this becomes a regular thing, it won’t take long to undo all the gains that have been made.

~~~

▲     Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher, Nathan Beaulieu, Al Montoya

▼     

1. Shea Weber  MTL
2. Phillip Danault  MTL
3. John Tavares  NYI

• “In the second period, we started skating and playing our game, started pushing the pace and we got some quality scoring chances.”
• “At a time I got a feeling that we need to make a change.” On Max Pacioretty next to David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw: “I thought Pacioretty fit well there. I like those changes.”
• “Shea (Weber) was phenomenal again. He scored with a great shot. What I’m the most impressed about is his defensive game. Yes, he can shoot the puck and is good on the power play, but you look at his defensive game and he is a tough guy to play against. We like what we’ve seen from him since the beginning of the year.”
• “[Al Montoya has] played really well. He’s giving us a chance to win hockey games, it’s pretty simple.”

Shea Weber

• “We got our one opportunity tonight and we were able to get the goal at the big moment in the game. The power play should be a difference-maker, the penalty kill the same thing. You’ve got to be able to win your team games at times, and tonight we were able to do that.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com