Habs Offence Rebounds Against Philly
Following Friday’s devastating 10-0 loss to Columbus, the Montreal Canadiens were in desperate need of a win in order to settle some jangled nerves. Luckily for fans, the Habs offense was up to the task, scoring 5 times to send the Flyers back to Philly with the loss. The back and forth affair saw 5 different Canadiens players light the lamp. The Habs opened the scoring just over a minute into the game with Andrei Markov‘s first of the season, but the Flyers were quick to bounce back with goals by Chris VandeVelde and Shayne Gostisbehere coming before the halfway mark of the first period. Montreal’s Greg Pateryn also scored in the 1st to send the game to intermission tied 2-2.
Tomas Plekanec Scored Shorthanded
The second period saw the Habs take a 3-2 lead on a goal by Alex Galchenyuk, his fourth of the season so far. Montreal’s Phillip Danault gave the Habs a 4-2 lead early in the 3rd, a goal which ended up being the winner. Philly saw 3rd period markers from Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny, while Tomas Plekanec also scored his 1st of the year for the Canadiens. The win moves the Habs to 10-1-1 on the year, while Philly is now 6-6-1.
Habs Defense Continues to Struggle
While it was a far better performance than Friday’s game, Montreal’s defensive play continued to disappoint on Saturday. The 4 goals allowed were the most that Carey Price has allowed all season and the 2 powerplay goals indicate that the problem lay in Montreal’s defensive unit. This is not the first questionable play by the Habs blueline, which has come under fire over the last few games, but have been rescued by the All-Star performances of Price.
Price Robs Voracek
The defensive gaffe’s being made by Montreal are very similar to last year’s disastrous performance and highlight the level to which the team depends on the play of their netminder. It is clear that heading forward, coach Michel Therrien and his staff need to address the serious weak spots that are appearing. The addition of Shea Weber has helped, but there is still much room for improvement.
Next up: The Big Bad Bruins
Montreal’s defensive lines will have to be on their toes on Tuesday, as the Canadiens play host to the Boston Bruins. The Habs won the first meeting of the season 4-2 in Boston, but this will be the first encounter between the two on Bell Center ice this year. The rivals always put on a great show, and this type of atmosphere is where Carey Price is at his best. Hopefully the rest of the team can step up their play and give him the support he deserves. Game time is 7:30PM EST.
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