CANADIENS
Montreal

PANTHERS
Florida

Game Report

For a team who had lost three straight and on a bit of a slide since last month, the win was important.  But there was palpable concern that the Canadiens leading scorer left the game in the first period and didn’t return.  Max Pacioretty played just 1:59 and was escorted from the ice after falling awkwardly into the boards.

Pacioretty hit the back of his head against the end boards after being checked by Dmitry Kulikov.  He was visibly dazed and needed help from the training staff to make it to the dressing room.

When asked about Pacioretty’s condition post-game, Therrien replied, “No, I haven’t talked to no one yet.”

Carey Price picked up his 42nd win of the season to tie the Canadiens franchise record currently held by Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante.  He will be likely to start on Thursday night with a chance to set a new record against the Detroit Red Wings.  If that happens, you can expect Dustin Tokarski to start Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the final regular season game.

And for those curmudgeons of the mainstream media, there will be no asterisk on Price’s record. If he gets to 43, he will have earned it by single-handedly carrying his border-line playoff talented team to the top of the standings.  Should Plante’s numbers have a record because the velocity of player’s shots was limited by heavy wooden sticks? Or Dryden’s record tainted by the powerhouse team of future Hall of Famers who played in front of him?

No, to both.  And neither should Price’s contribution be questioned by a bitter corps who have always been reluctant to give Carey his due.

In addition to chipping in during the remaining two games to help Price get the record, his teammates may want to do something about protecting their best player.  Price was run, knocked and bumped at least a half dozen times by the Panthers. Carey can expect to receive the same treatment by playoff opponents.

The Canadiens need to challenge anyone who brushes their goaltender, but better still, start boxing out opposition forwards before they get to the crease.  And it sure wouldn’t hurt if Montreal had an effective power-play that made transgressors pay on the scoreboard.

Montreal received contributions from a couple of unlikely sources. Devante Smith-Pelly scored his first goal in a Canadiens jersey and only his second goal in the last 62 games.  P.A. Parenteau broke a nine-game scoring drought with just his eighth goal of the season.  It was Parenteau’s second goal in the past 30 games.

Before anyone gets too excited about the Habs four-goal offensive ‘explosion’ it would be wise to remember that the Florida Panthers were officially eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday  night. They responded with a lacklustre performance.  The Panthers look demoralized, not like the team who had played so well in the four previous meetings against the Canadiens; each game being a one-goal decision. The absence of Roberto Luongo in the Florida goal also contributed to the result, Dan Ellis was sub-par.

The Canadiens will spend Monday in Florida returning to Montreal on Tuesday.  Expect a bronzed faced coach behind the bench on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

▲     Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price, Jeff Petry, Alex Galchenyuk, P.A. Parenteau, Devante Smith-Pelly

▼     David Desharnais, Torrey Mitchell, Brandon Prust, Dale Weise

1.  Tomas Plekanec  MTL
2.  P.A. Parenteau  MTL
3.  Aaron Ekblad  FLA

• “It was not about one guy who really stepped up. We lost an important player in our lineup tonight, but one thing I really appreciate is the fact that guys were fresh and they played hard, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
• “I wanted to try something new with [Devante Smith-Pelly]. With only a couple of regular season games left, now was the time [to shuffle the lines]. I liked his presence in front of the net during power plays. He’s been more involved since the game in New Jersey. It’s one of the reasons I tried moving him up tonight and I’m pleased with the result.”

Carey Price

• “It’s been a lot of fun this year. That pretty much sums it up. We’ve had excellent success as a group this year and that (record) definitely reflects it.”

Brendan Gallagher

• “He’s a big part of our team, a guy we’ve relied on all year long. That said, that’s sports. Guys go down. It’s an opportunity for guys to step up, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. Balanced scoring throughout the board and obviously happy to see [Devante Smith-Pelly] get his first one with us.”

P.A. Parenteau

• “I was patient with the puck all the way up the ice. It kind of opened up for me in the neutral zone, and I took advantage of it. I think there was a little standstill there with the three guys around me. I actually got lucky a little bit because it wasn’t the best rebound in the world, but I’ll take it.”

Devante Smith-Pelly

• “It felt good. It’s a big relief, so hopefully it snowballs in the right direction. Anytime you’re able to contribute, it’s special. I’m just happy we came out with a big win. I don’t really focus on my personal stats that much. I’m more focused on doing what the coaches ask me and do what I need to do to help the team win.”
• [Max Pacioretty] is our best goalscorer. One guy wasn’t going to be able to fill that gap by himself, so without anyone having to tell us, we knew we had to pick up the slack by committee. Any time you’re able to contribute makes it special, but being my first makes it even more special. Most of all I’m just happy that we’re coming away with the win.”

Panthers defenceman Willie Mitchell

• “It wasn’t a good enough effort from us, first of all me. It’s hard to describe. Our goal was to make the playoffs and after the last game we were officially eliminated. Sometimes your mind is in a different place. You have to find a way to play better although the games don’t mean anything. We’re disappointed. Our heads were in a different place. We put a lot into this.”

Panthers goalie Dan Ellis

• “It’s a tough time of year. We’ve been plugging away for so long and the emotions have been so high. Now when you go from playing every game for playoff position to knowing that you’re out of it, those games are more difficult mentally to grind through.”

Panthers coach Gerard Gallant

• “We weren’t very good tonight. We checked out. I wasn’t happy with the performance. I didn’t like our effort. I always talk about finishing hard, but we didn’t finish hard tonight. The goals we gave up, we made it easy for Montreal.”
• “They’re playing for first overall in the conference and are battling hard.  To me, every game is important. We want to finish the season strong, but tonight we didn’t play like that.”