Montreal Canadiens: Brendan Gallagher Shines in his 500th Game

Montreal Canadiens leaders stepped up last night as the Habs dominated the Coyotes. Goals from Gallagher, Weber, Drouin and Cousins allowed the Habs to fly through Arizona.

The Montreal Canadiens came off another long break of 4 days before going into Arizona to face off against the Coyotes. Brendan Gallagher was set and ready to play his 500th NHL game, as Max Domi was determined and ready to face his former team. The Coyotes were starting the season hot with a 7-3-1 record, before coming into tonight’s game. Habs knew they had to come out strong and fast as they had fresh feet, which is exactly what they did.

Starting the first period, the first line stroke first yet again as Gallagher scored his 6th goal of the season, in his 500th game played! Some may call it a lucky bounce, as it more than likely was, but it was caused due to hard work and a great forecheck right out of the gate for the Habs’ first line. I really liked the effort and passion Gallagher portrays at the start of the games, he always seems very threatening and the opponents seem to be intimidated by his efforts and hard work. It worked against Toronto the previous game, as he was very menacing in the opening shift, and it obviously worked tonight as he got the Habs’ first goal of the evening.

The Habs played an overall mediocre first period, as the rest of the period seemed a little slow from both sides. Although both teams were given powerplays and chances were created throughout both of them, there were no other goals as both goalies stood tall for the remainder of the first period. I liked Price’s composure throughout the period as well, as he made many key saves and kept the Habs in the game.

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Starting the 2nd period, we might as well have called it a copy and paste scenario for the Habs. 24 seconds into the 2nd, Habs scored yet again. It was undoubtedly lucky, as the Coyotes’ goaltender had lost his skate blade, but Weber absolutely blasted his second of the season right through the net. I think Weber has played his strongest game of the season tonight. He’s showed strength, skill and speed (yes, really!).

The rest of the second period was better paced and more intense than the 1st period. Again, both teams with powerplays that couldn’t convert. One player who I’m highly disappointed in, not just tonight but all season long, is Paul Byron. He has just been so unlucky, but it seems to be more than that. It almost looks a if he isn’t trying on the ice. Obviously he is, but he is definitely missing some intensity in his game, and we can only hope that he finds his game back again sooner than later. Mixing Byron’s poor play with Lehkonen’s, who is also struggling, you simply can’t expect Kotkaniemi to perform well. That whole line has been struggling, and I think we need to put Armia back with Kotkaniemi to regain some confidence in him. It’s very painful to see Kotkaniemi being paired with 2 struggling forwards who belong on 4th lines. I hope this does not last long, as we need and depend on Kotkaniemi to perform well for the future of this franchise. All this is being mentioned due to Byron’s poor play which is causing that entire 3rd line to play poorly.

As the period went on, we saw Price in a very scary moment as he received a skate to the mask, luckily it does not seem to be anything major. It could have been very much worse, but we won’t think about that, and we’ll be happy he’s fine and not injured.

Overall, I’m very happy with the way the Habs have been playing so far in the game, as our top 2 lines are playing very well and creating very good scoring chances.

The Canadiens started the 3rd period yet again with an early goal to start off the 3rd period. Nick Suzuki made a great play to Nick Cousins to give the Habs a 3 goal lead to start off the 3rd period. Suzuki has been nothing short of phenomenal for his rookie campaign. He looks like a regular on the team, and plays better than a lot of his teammates so far. I love the Hockey IQ he’s portraying so far. Nick Cousins has also been a very enjoyable addition to the team so far. Our 4th line has been very hard to play against, and that continued into tonight as well.

Although the coyotes got on the board, I still think Price played a very good game. The goal was no way his fault, as the defencemen were completely lost. Price played on his head today, making many key saves and looked very comfortable and calm in his net, which is exactly what we needed from him tonight.

Jonathan Drouin added another goal tonight as the Habs took the late lead 4-1, as Joel Armia decided to shoot the puck on the 2 on 1. He needs to always do that. His shot is very powerful and being in that position, he needs to utilize his shot. It leads to goals most of the time, as we have seen tonight.

Honorable mentions tonight go out to Ben Chiarot and Shea Weber as they played very solid games, played their positions perfectly while being physical, smart, defensive yet offensive, and providing some key plays such as the pass that led to Drouin’s goal in the 3rd.

In conclusion, the Canadiens played a beautiful game as Gallagher scored in his 500th NHL game. Habs played a picture perfect Hockey game, and need to carry that same momentum and play into tomorrow night’s game against the Golden Knights.