Montreal Canadiens

Habs officially back in the postseason as they defeated the Panther 6-2
March 31, 2017, 2:44 PM ET [25 Comments]
Jennifer B Cutler
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By handily defeating the Florida Panthers by a score of 6-2 at the Bell Centre on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens clinched their spot in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 97 points. Combined with the Ottawa Senators loss to the Minnesota Wild, the Canadiens were able to further extend their Atlantic division lead over their rival to six points. They have also tied the New York Rangers in points as they hope to avoid the probability of hosting them despite the possibility of the Rangers finishing with more overall points.

While the Canadiens offense came alive against the Panthers, it must be taken with a small grain of salt as their opponent were playing with two AHL goaltenders and are now officially eliminated from the playoffs. However, the Canadiens have had difficulty getting up for games that they have been “supposed to” win. Against the Panthers though they demonstrated that they were not going to let that happen again as they took quickly took control and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period before finishing the night off with three more in the third period to make it a 6-2 final score.

Puck props & flops:

Props:

Brendan Gallagher - It was a career night for Gallagher who recorded four points in an NHL game for the first time with a goal and three assists. It has been a difficult season for Gallagher who went through a long goalless drought before fracturing the same hand as a year ago. However since being put on a line with Paul Byron and Tomas Plekanec, Gallagher is back to playing his feisty style of hockey. He is much more involved with the play and once again has his permanent smile as he frustrates opponents. Gallagher has nine points in his last nine games and it is such a positive sign for the team to have their heart and soul back to playing his game and getting the results.

Paul Byron - With two goals against the Panthers, Byron has now scored 22 on the season. He has already far surpassed expectations as the Canadiens second leading goal scorer. Perhaps most impressively is that 21 of those 22 goals was scored at even strength to go along with a lone shorthanded goal. His story is well known but Byron is truly an inspiration and role model for everyone, not just aspiring hockey players.

Nathan Beaulieu - His performance in the first period was simply dominant as Beaulieu displayed all of his positive attributes. His passing and awareness in the offensive zone was second to none. Beaulieu had two assists, three blocked shot and finished the night +3. He might just be the Canadiens most polarizing player as his inconsistencies have caused numerous goals against but he has the ability to be a game changer in a positive why and that is why he needs to be in the lineup night in and night out.

Alexander Radulov - He set up Max Pacioretty and Phillip Danault on their goals and seemingly seems to be back at full strength. On Danault’s goal Radulov was back to protecting the puck like no other and setting him up with a perfect backhand pass. Radulov was quick to shower Danault with praise after the game and it is clear that he is the centerman of choice for the top wingers. However, it is also obvious that Radulov is the glue to that line and when he is on, there is no looking back for the trio.

Claude Julien - Is there any doubt that Julien is the right man to lead the Canadiens?







Flops:

The third line - It was a rougher night for Alex Galchenyuk, Andrew Shaw and Artturi Lehkonen as the trio were on the ice for both the Panthers goals. They also had difficulty generating scoring chances and sustaining pressure compared to the other trios, including the fourth line. However, they had been playing very strong and consistent hockey before the Panthers game and there is little reason to believe that they will not bounce back against the Lightning on Saturday night.

The Canadiens will now hit the road for a three game road trip in Tampa Bay, Florida and Buffalo.