CANADIENS
Montreal

ISLANDERS
New York

Game Notes:

31. After a three-game losing streak in early December, the Canadiens have won five of six games. With the exception of the Vancouver game on the night of the Jean Beliveau tribute, Montreal has been outplayed in each contest. December is turning out to be a repeat of the previous two months: the Canadiens owe their place in the standings to Carey Price.

In this game, the Islanders dominated the first period outshooting the Canadiens 14-3. Price was superb going on to make 37 saves for the win. With big, mobile forwards, the Islanders are a team that feasts on rebounds to create their offense. After the game, John Travares seemed surprised not to get second and third scoring opportunities. The reason was: Carey Price. In this game, he was the only star who mattered.  Even with all the superlatives tossed his way, it’s hard to accurately convey just how integral Price has been to the Canadiens’ success.

Untouchable.  Many fans bristle when any criticism is directed at the head coach. They quickly point to “his” winning record and Michel Therrien “taking” the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final last season.  Or was that Carey Price who put the team on his back?  This season Canadiens are dead last in the league with just 12 goals scored in the first period. They have led just four times after the first period in 35 games played.

So if the coach deserves the credit for the team’s success, then we have to assume that players are simply prone to lazy starts this season driven by a lack of caring and/or effort. And that there has been a dramatic change in this regard from last season to this one. Does that make sense to you?  Or is it possible that game planning and preparation has suffered this season without Gerard Gallant on the coaching staff?

Go.to.the.net. The Canadiens made the most of their opportunities by going to the net. In the absence of a true scoring second-line winger, coach Therrien elevated Brandon Prust and Dale Weise to the second line. It was Prust who contributed to the Habs first goal by going to the net providing a screen for Andrei Markov‘s point shot. Net drive was also key in the second and third goals along with some smart passing.

Easy access. A common thread for the past few weeks is that the Canadiens are being outhit by a wide margin.  Tonight was no exception with a 24-7 advantage in hits for the Islanders.  This led to neutralizing the Habs speed as they attacked while the lack of physical play in the defensive zone allowed the Islanders easy passage. The Canadiens ended the game with a top-four of Andrei Markov, P.K. Subban, Sergei Gonchar and Nathan Beaulieu — the group of four mobile defensemen combined for three hits. With Bryan Allen and Mike Weaver not proving to be the answer, perhaps it is time to recall Jarred Tinordi to add a physical dimension to the back end.

Plus / Minus

▲▲   Carey Price

▲    Andrei Markov, Sergei Gonchar, Brendan Gallagher, P.K. Subban

▼    Alexei Emelin, Sven Andrighetto, Jiri Sekac

1.  Brendan Gallagher MTL
2.  Carey Price  MTL
3.  Kyle Okposo  MTL

• “I let the players know I was disappointed. Tonight we didn’t compete in the first period.”
• “[Carey Price] kept us in the game. He responded well starting in the first. I’m sure that without the way Carey has been playing this season, we’d have a lot fewer opportunities to come back and win games. He kept us in it tonight until we found our legs in the second.”

Brendan Gallagher

• “We didn’t win any battles in the first period.”

Andrei Markov

• “It was a special game for me (playing in his 800th career match.) To have the win is even more special.”
• “Right now I’m healthy, happy and looking forward to the next couple of years.”

Islanders forward John Tavares

• “It’s disappointing to end a good stretch. We didn’t have that extra gear that we usually do. We really didn’t generate a whole lot of great chances. We didn’t seem to get those second and third opportunities.”

Islanders forward Kyle Okposo

• “We still outshot them pretty bad and we didn’t give them much. They had some zone time, but we didn’t give up a whole lot of shots and I feel like we outplayed them most of the game.”

Islanders coach Jack Capuano

• “There’s some things in our game I like, but the consistency with some guys just isn’t there.”