CANADIENS
Montreal

LIGHTNING
Tampa Bay

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings 

[one_half]Pacioretty – Danault – Radulov
Byron – Plekanec – Gallagher
Galchenyuk – Shaw – Lehkonen
King – McCarron – Martinsen
[/one_half]

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

Goaltenders

Price
Lindgren

Scratches

Jordie Benn, Torrey Mitchell, Brian Flynn, Nikita Nesterov, Steve Ott, Al Montoya

Injured Reserve

Game Report

Given that the playoffs are just around the corner, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning conspired to give us a preview of the type of hockey we may be enjoying by mid-April.

The Lightning are a desperate team are making one last push for a playoff spot. Of the teams remaining on the Canadiens schedule, the Bolts are the most talented. And presented the biggest test.

After clinching a playoff berth, a letdown may have been expected. It didn’t turn out that way, especially with Mr. Saturday Night in goal. Carey Price is reminding folks around the league of what a Vezina-candidate plays like.

After a modest disappearing act, Alexander Radulov has signaled that he is ready for post-season action. Radulov scored the second game-winning goal of his season. Max Pacioretty has emerged from his brief lull as well.

The second line is perhaps the Canadiens most dangerous right now. Both Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher have experienced Lazarus conversions and are playing the best hockey of their seasons.

The defence has benefited from the system of Claude Julien. Can we dream a little of what the unit can be under the tutelage of a true defensive mind after the long-overdue exit of J. J. Daigneault?

It is a cautiously optimistic time for fans as they see the transformation of their team. There may be a bit of a wake up call on the horizon once the Canadiens face some of the giants of the East, who have been honing their games more than a few weeks, with talent and depth beyond what Marc Bergevin has provided. But for now, there is a quiet confidence in Montreal.

~~~

▲     Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Paul Byron, Alexei Emelin, Artturi Lehkonen, Shea Weber, Andrei Markov

▼     Brandon Davidson, Jeff Petry, Michael McCarron, Andreas Martinsen

1.  Carey Price  MTL
2.  Andrei Vasilevskiy  TBL
3.  Alexander Radulov  MTL

• “[Alexander Radulov] is passionate about his work. He loves playing hockey. He loves being on the ice, even for practice. He works hard. He’s a team guy who wants to win for the right reasons. He wants to be a part of the solution. That’s what I like about him.”

Alexander Radulov

• “I didn’t get many [game-winners] this year, but it’s nice. It’s always nice. I think we played a good game. We deserved to win. Patch made a great pass. At the end of the day, it worked out well. We’ll take it.”

Max Pacioretty

• “They’re a desperate team, so we knew they’d give us their best. [Andrei Vasilevskiy] gave us their best, and I think their team did as well. They were really skating hard, and finishing more checks than we’re used to. I think they got a lot of guys who got an opportunity to step into the lineup and try and make a difference. Normally guys who have that opportunity are going to play hard and play physical, so that was the case [on Saturday].”
• “I thought we played well defensively, and that translated into a lot of offensive zone time, a lot of opportunities. We only scored two goals, but we had chances to score. It’s a positive feeling. You don’t know what to expect in that situation, but there definitely was no let down. To come out and put that behind us was pretty impressive.”
• “I feel a lot of pride when he scores and when he contributes offensively because I owe so much to him. He’s done so much for this team and for myself. To see him get rewarded and see the energy that he plays with night in and night out is really rewarding to our group because he’s such a dynamic player, and that rubs off on the rest of us. He’s a huge part of this team.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com