Montreal Canadiens

Habs first line dominant as they defeat the Sabres 5-2. News from practice February 1, 2017, 12:11 PM ET [125 Comments] Jennifer B Cutler  Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT

It appears as though some rest and relaxation was just what the doctor ordered as the Canadiens flew out of the gate to defeat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 at the Bell Centre in their first game back from the NHL All-Star break. The Canadiens benefitted from the return of David Desharnais and Andrei Markov to the lineup, having missed 24 and 19 games respectively with a knee and groin injury. Greg Pateryn also received the green light to play but was a last minute replacement on the blue line for Jeff Petry who was out with the flu. Combined with the debut of former Tampa Bay Bay Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov, t half of the Canadiens defensemen dressed against the Sabres were new from just a week ago.

The Canadiens top line of Max Pacioretty, Phillip Danault and Alexander Radulov led offense for the Canadiens, combining for seven points as Pacioretty recorded a hat trick. While the line often dominated the game, the Canadiens also received scoring from Paul Byron and David Desharnais as the balanced lines demonstrated the Canadiens depth when healthy. Carey Price was once again solid in net as he stopped 37 of 39 Sabres shots for his 23rd win of the season as he steadily improves his goals against and save percentage numbers.

Puck props and flops:

Props:

Alexander Radulov - What more can be said about the Russian forward who has proved all of his doubters wrong? Once again Radulov was an absolute beast on the puck and demonstrated his elite passing skills as he spoon fed Pacioretty for two of his three goals. He has become such an integral part of the Canadiens success as the team’s record when he records a point is 21-2-2. Everyone is waiting for Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin to sign him to a long term deal. That task is easier said than done but it is very hard to imagine a Canadiens team without him in the lineup next season...

Max Pacioretty - He has now scored 24 goals this season and is tied for second in goals scored this season as only Sidney Crosby has scored more. While Radulov’s passes were picture perfect, Pacioretty still had to finish to score his goals. Pacioretty has an elite release and he knows how to find the open space and get into position to score. On his third goal he scored by going to net and cashing in on a rebound/loose puck. Pacioretty has been a model of consistency since the end of November and has formed some excellent chemistry with Radulov and Danault.

Phillip Danault - He is certainly making it very difficult for Alex Galchenyuk to reclaim his spot centering the top line. Against the Sabres Danault used his speed to chase the puck and forecheck hard to initiate the first two goals by Pacioretty. After the game, Pacioretty gave credit and a vote of confidence to Danault:

“Every play kind of starts with our centerman Phil -- he has to skate a lot -- but he's always making the good first play.”

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Andrei Markov & David Desharnais - While the return of Markov was highly anticipated and celebrated by fans, that of Desharnais was anti-climactic by comparison. When the Canadiens are completely healthy, it is difficult to find a place for Desharnais in the lineup as Danault has surpassed him on the center depth chart and there is no way that Tomas Plekanec is going to play on the wing. While the first period was a little rough on him as he had a hard time finding his game legs, he settled in for the second and third periods and scored his fourth goal of the season, not to mention the game winner. Markov was excellent in his return. The coaching staff were not tempted to overuse him as he had only 17:42 minutes of ice time. He and Nesterov looked very comfortable together and Markov’s pass to Byron on his goal was a thing of beauty and absolute perfection. 

Nikita Nesterov - The newly acquired rearguard had an excellent debut with the Canadiens. Despite playing on the right side, he looked very natural with the puck and playing alongside Markov. The coaches put him in a position to succeed by pairing him with Markov and limiting his ice time to an effective 14:21. In those minutes Nesterov was a +2, had one shot on net, two hits and two blocked shots. A solid night’s work.

Flops:

Nathan Beaulieu & Greg Pateryn - Pateryn had a very difficult first period of play and did not initially look to be in game shape as he had three giveaways and took a penalty in the first twenty minutes of play. While he improved as the game went on, Beaulieu’s play fell as he started to make sloppy decisions with the puck. Against the uninspired Sabres the dup did not cause any goals against but had they been playing a stronger team it might have been a much different night for the two.  

Canadiens closing out games - The Canadiens allowed two late goals to the Sabres to once again spoil Price’s shutout bid. There is a recent and apparent lack of focus towards the end of games that should make the team pause for concern. Once again they took a late penalty and allowed the Sabres to score with the man advantage and the team also allowed a goal to be scored immediately after losing a faceoff in their own end. In the last ten days they allowed the Buffalo Sabres to comeback to win 3-2 in overtime after giving up the lead twice in that game as well as last second goal against the Calgary Flames in a 5-1 victory. Against stronger teams the Canadiens would be punished for losing such focus. They must bear down to close out games, be it a blowout or a tight game…

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The Canadiens returned to practice Wednesday morning in Brossard before they charter to Philadelphia to play the Flyers on Thursday night. Alex Galchenyuk practiced with his teammates and his return forced Desharnais to the wing. The lines at practice were:




Michel Therrien’s future headache with balancing the lines will only truly come when Brendan Gallagher is ready to return to the lineup, likely after the Canadiens bye week in mid-February. For now, it makes sense to have Desharnais on the third line left wing and he will stay there as long as his play merits it. After practice it was confirmed that Galchenyuk is ready and will play against the Flyers on Thursday. Jeff Petry will also return to the lineup and Carey Price will get the start in Philadelphia.




The return of Markov, Pateryn and arrival of Nesterov already meant that Zach Redmond was placed on waivers and sent to the St. John’s Ice Caps. Now, it is Mark Barberio’s turn to be placed on waivers. There is little doubt that he could be a useful third pairing defenseman for some teams but the extra year on his contract might deter some from placing a claim. We will find out by noon tomorrow if he will be on his way to Newfoundland or to another organization. Daniel Carr has been sent down to the Ice Caps as the Canadiens have decided to keep just one roster spot open to save some salary cap space. The team prefers to have De La Rose up to lake faceoffs on the left side and to add some physicality to the fourth line. Carr does not need to clear waivers and so it was an easy decision to send him down.

Cheers and follow along![/size]