Montreal Canadiens

Habs sweep weekend series with the Sens, strengthening their hold on 1st
March 20, 2017, 11:27 AM ET [214 Comments]
Jennifer B Cutler
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The Montreal Canadiens swept the Ottawa Senators in back to back games over the weekend by narrowly defeating them 4-3 Saturday night in a shootout in Ottawa and then winning convincingly at the Bell Centre on Saturday by a score of 4-1. The four earned points tipped the scales for the Atlantic division lead back in the Canadiens favor as they now lead the Senators by four points and extended their lead over the third place Bruins by eight. Both teams hold a game in hand but now the Canadiens are the masters of their own destiny, at least when it comes to first place in the Atlantic.

The Canadiens are making a habit of coming from behind after forty minutes as they came back from a 2-1 deficit after two periods of play on Saturday. It was the eleventh time this season that the Canadiens have been able to successfully pull off that difficult feat, a statistic in which they are leading the league. Thanks to their ability to be resilient, the Canadiens were able to tie the game early in the third period on a goal by Phillip Danault and 31 seconds later they pulled ahead on Brendan Gallagher’s eighth goal of the season. Erik Karlsson tied the game with five minutes left in the period to send it to overtime. In extra time, the Canadiens penalty kill was superb as they killed off Max Pacioretty’s penalty to force a shootout. Paul Byron and Alexander Radulov scored on their attempts while Carey Price was perfect, giving the Canadiens the full two points.

While Saturday’s game was an excellent, hard fought battle between two division rivals, Sunday’s rematch was a tilted affair in the Canadiens favor as they controlled the better part of the play. Price started the game in what was a rare back to back appearance for him this season. It was an indication of just how important the game was. The team got two rare first period goals from Tomas Plekanec and Jordie Benn to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Tom Pyatt scored the lone goal for the Senators. Byron and Nathan Beaulieu scored in the third period to extend the Canadiens lead and make it a 4-1 final.

Weekend Puck props and flops:

Props:

Carey Price - On Saturday night Price had his moments of excellency but also would like back at least one of the goals that he did let in to Senators. However, he was perfect in the shootout to seal the win. At the Bell Centre on Sunday, Price was simply brilliant as he made 30 saves. In the second period his save on Kyle Turris was highway larceny as made a save that very few goaltenders in the world have the ability to do:




His ability to slide over and fully extend his leg and toe is absolutely incredible. Price is simply sensational and his ability to make that kind of save gives his teammates that much more confidence to go out and do their job. It also gets in the heads of Canadiens opponents as they see that save and think how are they going to be able to beat him?

Jordie Benn - Is there a player who was traded at the deadline and has been more impactful for his new team than Benn? On Saturday he had 21:30 minutes of ice time including 4:37 on the penalty kill. His ability to play on the first unit of the penalty kill unit alongside Shea Weber has absolute transformed the Canadiens. He and Weber were huge (not just literally) on the overtime penalty kill as they made it as difficult as could be on the Senators. Now Andrei Markov does not have to be depended upon to play as many minutes, keeping him fresher for the playoffs. At the Bell Centre he followed that strong performance by scoring the game winning goal and continuing to be a positive influence for Beaulieu.

Phillip Danault, Andrew Shaw & Arturri Lehkonen - This trio absolutely dominated whenever they were on the ice on Saturday night. They are all strong forecheckers and have a nose for the net. Shaw and Danault each had a goal and an assist while Lehkonen also had an assist. They combined for 12 shots on net and gave the Senators heaps of trouble. Danault’s goal was his first in 22 games and so his draught is finally over. The trio were on the ice for the Canadiens first power play goal in March, likely not a coincidence. These three are seriously fun to watch but they are also defensively responsible. They rarely get hemmed in their own zone.

Paul Bryon, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher - Secondary scoring has awakened and then some as all three got on the scoreboard over the weekend. Byron now has his first ever 20 goal season in the NHL. At $1.167 million per year, is there a better bargain in the NHL? He has gone from a player likely to be lost at the expansion draft to one that must be protected. Gallagher has rediscovered his game and the points are now coming with four in his last four games. Plekanec has at times looked to be the weakest of the three but he has been battling through an injury. On Sunday he played one of his best games of the year.

Neither here nor there:

While the top line of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov combined for one assist all weekend, the trio still performed well. They created chances and perhaps more importantly they did not give up many either. Radulov is still getting back up to speed from his minor injury. While the secondary scoring has been carrying the Canadiens over the past few games, it will not be long until they are contributing on the scoresheet as well.

Alexei Emelin was a healthy scratch on Saturday and came back into the lineup at the Bell Centre on Sunday. He played one of his best games in quite some time as he kept it simple and steady. Emelin was back to his physical self contributing five hits and two blocked shots. His improved play helped partner Jeff Petry as well as he had more confidence on the ice as well. This is the Emelin that the Canadiens need. Now it remains to be seen if he can do it on a consistent basis.

Can the four forward powerplay play unit please go away? It is still not working. While they are improving at sustaining more pressure they are not generating quality scoring chances. The only reason the power play is not a flop is because they finally broke through and scored on Sunday night. However that was with the traditional 3 forward, 2 defensemen unit. Also, can Nathan Beaulieu please get a regular shift on the powerplay again? He scored with only 15 seconds of powerplay time and only had 11 seconds on Saturday. It is time to go back to the drawing board Kirk…

This week the Canadiens host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday before another rematch with the Senators Saturday night at the Bell Centre.