CANADIENS
Montreal

SABRES
Buffalo

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings 

[one_half]Byron – Drouin – Galchenyuk
Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw
Hudon – Plekanec – Gallagher 
Deslauriers – De La Rose – Froese
[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Alzner – Petry
Benn – Morrow
Jerabek – Mete
[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders

Price
Niemi

Scratches

Brandon Davidson

Injuries

David Schlemko – hand, Ales Hemsky – concussion, Nikita Scherbak – knee,  Carey Price – lower-body, Al Montoya – concussion, Artturi Lehkonen – lower-body, Shea Weber – lower-body

Game Report

Ca-REY, Ca-REY! The chants filled the Bell Centre loud and often.

It was like everything up to this game was just the pre-season. Carey Price triumphantly returned to the lineup, making 36 saves for the 40th shutout of his career.

Price made hard saves look easy, smothered rebounds, and handled the puck like no other goaltender can. The best goaltender in the world once again took his throne. Price controlled the pace of this game making each one of his defenseman play better and more confidently.

Without Shea Weber in the lineup, Price was the quarterback casting the rather large shadow for his D corps. Jeff Petry stepped up both defensively and offensively with his third goal of the season. Jakub Jerabek is smart, is making good decisions with the puck and is adapting to the smaller ice.

Alex Galchenyuk and Jonathan Drouin continue to prove that they have chemistry. Paul Byron stepped in tonight as the third member of the top trio. Buffalo had their hands full dealing with the line of Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher and Charles Hudon.

The asterisk that no one wants to talk about is that the opponent was the Sabres. But a shutout by their franchise player was the best way to put an end to the five game losing streak. It was the 40th shutout of Price’s career putting him just six behind Ken Dryden on the Canadiens all-time list.

The competition will get tougher with Columbus at the Bell Centre on Monday. But help is on the way from Laval in the person of David Schlemko. The 30-year-old defenseman played two weekend games for the Laval Rocket as a conditioning stint. Schlemko admitted that Friday’s game was a little rough but he seemed to be getting comfortable in the Saturday matinee.

~~~

▲     Carey Price, Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Jeff Petry, Jakub Jerabek

▼    Nicolas Deslauriers, Byron Froese

1. Carey Price  MTL
2. Jonathan Drouin  MTL
3. Alex Galchenyuk  MTL

• “My assessment of Jeff (Petry) the last two games, he’s been outstanding for me. He’s skating with a lot of confidence, he’s getting on those pucks, he’s winning those battles and races. It just seems like he’s playing with a lot of energy.”
• “It’s nice to see a guy like that step up like he’s doing right now when you’re missing one of your top defensemen. He’s done a great job, and you hope he continues playing that way. That’s the kind of player we need on the backend.”

Carey Price

• “I felt prepared more than anything. I spent a lot of time thinking about today and I’m just glad it all turned out well.”
•  “Injuries aren’t a vacation. It took a lot to get ready for tonight. Now I have to move on to the next one.”

Paul Byron

• “Anytime you get the best goalie back on your team, making those saves like he always does, it gives people a lot of positives. One thing this team can’t complain about is the goaltending we’ve gotten lately. Carey was great for us.”

Akex Galchenyuk

• “[Carey Price] is one of the best players in the League. To get a player like that is always a boost. Not just on the ice, but in the locker room he’s so focused and calm. It’s great to have a leader [like him] and great to see him back.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com