Habs End Sunday Night With 3-1 Win Against Sens

It was a great end to a Sunday night as the Montreal Canadiens won 3-1 against the Ottawa Senators, giving us fans a few reminders of what we should be thankful for.

Tomas Plekanec was the man of the 1st period. It started with a a sharp angle shot at the goal line with 9 minutes and 41 seconds left of the 1st period, giving the Habs a 1-0 lead against Ottawa. This also gave Plekanec his 501st NHL point, tying with Bob Gainey and becoming the 23rd player in Habs history to accomplish that feat.

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Plekanec got on a roll, stripping Erik Karlsson of the puck at the blue line and getting a clean breakaway with just a little over a minute left of the period, giving the Habs another point and solving Matt O’Connor once again.

The top line, consisting Plekanec, Max Pacioretty, and Brendan Gallagher of drove a lot of possession, with the line combining for 29 CF. Despite struggling on the powerplay, the boys made a solid effort and showed a change of pace by not using the “rely on the goalie” method, creating more scoring opportunities than scoring chances for the Senators.

The Habs ended the period 15-6 in shots and leading 2-0.

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On a powerplay that had Mark Stone and Marc Methot in the box with a roughing penalty 8 minutes and 39 seconds into the 2nd, the Senators got back into the game with a Jean-Gabriel Pageau short-handed goal past Mike Condon.

When it came down to the powerplay opportunities given to the Habs, it was one giant bust fest with the team going back to the classic pass to P.K. Subban in hopes for that one-timer that’s almost always stopped in it’s tracks. There was also more time spent int the Montreal zone, rather than regaining strength and pressure down near the Ottawa net.

The Senators, however, came off much stronger in the period, putting out heavy shots and hits on Montreal. The period ended with shots 9-6 in favor of the Habs, but it was Ottawa who dominated those 20 minutes of play.

Oct 11, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) skates with the puck in front of Ottawa Senators center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (44) in the first period at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Both teams started the 3rd period on a fast pace but Torrey Mitchell gave the Habs their 2 goal lead back 5 minutes and 41 seconds into the 3rd, with Subban flicking the puck towards the net and Mitchell deflecting it beautifully.

2 more PP opportunities came for the Habs. The 1st one 10 minutes in from a Patrick Wiercioch holding Dale Weise, but the Senators’ excellent penalty kill throughout the night served them well again, destroying the Habs’ sluggish attempt to grab that 4th goal.

The 2nd one was with a little over 7 minutes left after Stone took a stick to Plekanec’s face. Once again, not much movement came from Montreal, giving us once again a very predictable end to the PP.

In the last few minutes of the game, both the Senators and the Habs fought hard to grab one last point but in the end, Montreal had the upper hand and won the game 3-1.

Overall, the Habs had a great night. The last 4 periods of hockey from the team have been the best I’ve personally seen in 2 years, even though there’s still a few kinks to be sorted out. The only and still frustrating issue is the power play. It’s a momentum killer full of short-handed goals given up, no movement, and just looks tiring.

The most eventful moment of the night, however, was all on Condon, who made of the shots thrown at him. He also tracked the puck well and showed that he has similar composure to Carey Price, which is good if you’re wanting to be a top goaltender but bad if you have a team starting to rely on you to win the game for them. He had an impressive pre-season and in his NHL debut tonight with rookie O’Connor (the first NHL rookie debuts since Oct. 14, 1967), he showed the exact reason why he was chosen over Dustin Tokarski for this season.

What are your thoughts on Sunday night’s game? Let us know in the comments below!

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