Pacioretty Ends Drought in Habs Win
Fans and coaching staff alike have been critical of the play this season of Habs captain Max Pacioretty. Thankfully Pacioretty was able to put that aside as he scored the winning goal in the team’s 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The Habs entered the game having lost 4 of their last 5 games, a streak that included a loss to the Hurricanes. Carolina, on the other hand, entered having their last 5 straight games.
Max Pacioretty Banged One Past Cam Ward
The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the first period on a goal by Elias Lindholm at 10:32 to put Carolina up 1-0. The Habs quickly answered back with Andrew Shaw scoring his 4th of the season to tie the game. Both teams had a quiet second period, producing neither goals, nor penalties. The third period saw Pacioretty snap home a goal at the 14 second mark. This would eventually be the game winner. The win means Montreal is 15-4-2 this season while Carolina is now 8-7-4. Habs goalie Carey Price made 31 saves in the win, his 12th of the year. Hurricanes netminder Cam Ward made 20 saves in the losing effort. Price now has an impressive 1.71 goals against average and a save percentage of .945.
Injuries Force Lineup Changes Against Carolina
Zach Redmond Missed 6 Weeks
Injuries forced Habs coach Michel Therrien to make lineup changes for the game against Carolina and it is likely these changes will continue as the Canadiens look to fill holes in the roster. Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu missed the game after taking a puck to the neck on Tuesday and will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Bryan Flynn who has missed 7 games with an upper body injury will also not make the trip, as he continues his recovery. Rookie Artturi Lehkonen
who has missed the last nine games will travel with the team, suggesting that he will be available to play. Off season signing Zach Redmond has yet to play this year, but will play 2 games in the AHL prior to joining the Habs on their trip. Redmond suffered a broken foot during the preseason and has missed 6 weeks.
Road Trip Kicks off in Motown
The Habs now set off on a 5 game road trip that will see them visit the west coast, but they must first make a stopover in Detroit to face the Red Wings on Saturday night. The Canadiens took the first meeting between the two Original 6 rivals on November 12th by a score of 5-0. The Wings will be looking to avenge this loss, but current;y sit near the bottom of the division with a record of 9-10-1 so far this season. Following the game in Detroit, Montreal will fly out west for games in Anaheim, San Jose, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 7:00PM EST.
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