Montreal Canadiens Outlast the Storm, Beat Hurricanes

Tonight’s tilt between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh was nothing short of an abysmal excuse of a hockey game played between two clubs that looked a little more than a little disinterested. Let’s take a closer look.

Dec 29, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie

Carey Price

(31) reaches to make save during the 2nd period against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

If the Montreal Canadiens were hoping to bore their opponents to sleep it almost worked. Once again the Habs were unable to score a goal in the first period but were able to score the first and second goals of the game. They barely managed to keep their perfect record of winning when scoring first as the Canes pressured the Habs throughout the third period. Another issue was the Habs coming out slow once again, and i really can’t think that they can keep winning games if they only play one to two periods of hockey a game. If not for Carey Price‘s brilliance again tonight the outcome would not have been in the Habs favor.

Dec 29, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Montreal Canadiens forward

Jiri Sekac

(26) shoots against Carolina Hurricanes goalie

Cam Ward

(30) during the 1st period at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Habs didn’t win the special teams battle tonight as they went 0-1 on the powerplay and 1-2 on the penaltykill. It wasn’t giving up the powerplay goal that bothered me, so much as the Habs were basically unable to create any offense in the attacking zone when they finally did get a powerplay. They seemed disorganized with their entries and puck retrieval schemes, and I honestly don’t think it has anything to do with the turkey they’re no doubt all still digesting. The powerplay has been lackluster all season, and besides some game against the Flyers they haven’t done anything of value. I honestly think it’s time to bring in a new voice to take over the powerplay, because sooner or later the Habs are going to need a powerplay goal to secure a win.

Here are the players that I would like to single out after tonight’s game;

Jiri Sekac – That goal was spectacular. Too bad it didn’t turn into more ice time for they young forward.
Lars Eller – Scored the game winner, which was the 21,000th goal in team history. I guess they took the puck from him.
Carey Price – He was everything the Habs needed and obviously the team’s MVP.
Max Pacioretty – Timely goal at the end, but his 6 shots led all Habs by a wide margin.

What was a pleasant turn of events tonight was the play of Nathan Beaulieu who played 19:20 while playing beside Sergei Gonchar on the 2nd pairing. Having finally earned his way into Alexie Emelin’s spot in the top 4, he played with the composure of a seasoned vet, and he made Therrien look like a genius for putting him there. Our only question is, what took it so long?

Dec 29, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price (31) stops a shot in front of Carolina Hurricanes forward

Nathan Gerbe

(14) during the 3rd period at PNC Arena. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

My final thoughts on tonight’s game was the Habs once again played down to their opponent, but were able to get some timely scoring and great goaltending to eek out a win. The two points in regulation are huge for the Habs in their hunt for home ice in the post season, but let’s hope the GM was watching and that he noticed that the Habs could use a little help up front to drive some more possession.

3. 152. Final. 1. 109

Thanks for reading!

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