Holding Court
Thursday night’s game with the Montréal Canadiens hosting the New York Rangers in their home opener was a must-see for all young players who dream of becoming an elite goaltender in the NHL. (On a side note, seeing Guy Carbonneau hand the torch to Max Pacioretty is a must see for all Canadiens’ fans.) With Monsieur Carey Price on one end, and King Henrik Lundqvist at the other, this was an epic showdown.
At the Bell Centre, Lundqvist entered the game with a record of 4-6-2, a 3.81 goals against average, and a .878 save percentage. In his career, Price had a record of 10-5-1, a 1.86 goals against average, and a .940 save percentage against the Rangers. Both Lundqvist and Price have been Vezina Trophy recipients, in 2012 and 2015, respectively (Price was also awarded the Hart Trophy that same year).
This game was the first for Emerson Etem, as a member of the Rangers. Coach Alain Vigneault decided to scratch Jarret Stoll, Tanner Glass, and Dylan McIlrath in favor of Etem, Jesper Fast, and Dominic Moore. The night was also one for the record books, as Tomas Plekanec appeared in his 766th game, which tied him with Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion. The record landed Plekanec at 24th in All-Time Games Played in Canadiens’ history. Congratulations to him on that milestone!
The first period opened much the way that any hockey fan would expect. There was a heavy emphasis on defense, and both teams struggled to start their offense. Both goaltenders were alert, and made a few key saves. Not a whole lot happened during the first, but the tone was definitely set. It was clear, that whichever team made a mistake first would open up the scoring, and possibly win the game.
By the second period, things started to get interesting. About seven minutes in, Price made a save on Derick Brassard. Just to the side of the net, Mats Zuccarello and Devante Smith-Pelly along with Rick Nash & P.K. Subban started to push back at one another. While there were no fights, the two teams started to play more like the rivals that they are.
Finding Momentum
The Canadiens started to get a bit sluggish, and were making some careless turnovers. Subban practically gave the puck to Nash, at one point. However, at 8:46 of the second period, the first goal of the night was scored. While the Canadiens kept possession of the puck, Tomas Fleischmann held it in at the blue line, passing it down to David Desharnais, who took the shot. Lundqvist got the rebound, but was unable to cover the puck. Fleischmann zoomed in, and put it in the back of the net. The puck appeared to have deflected off former Canadien, and current Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. The score was 1-0 in favor of the Canadiens.
It was after this goal that the Canadiens started to play with more confidence and aggression, especially on the power play, when Nash was called for hooking against Smith-Pelly. Their best chance came when Nathan Beaulieu had a wide open net, after Lundqvist had allowed a rebound from a Desharnais shot. However, the Rangers’ goaltender was quick to make the save.
One of the more exciting moments came at the end of the second. The Rangers got a two-man advantage for a 1:42 with less than 4 minutes remaining, after Alexei Emelin received a delay of game penalty. The puck bounced over the glass, but did not look intentional, as it seemed that he was aiming for the puck to hit the boards, or the glass just above it. It appeared that it might have deflected off J.T. Miller’s stick as he poked at it. This penalty came just after Andrei Markov was called for hooking against Dan Boyle. The Canadiens were successful in killing the five-on-three, thanks to the efforts of Price who received a standing ovation from the fans.
Bad Blood
About three minutes into the third period, tensions spilled over from the second. Price knocked Chris Kreider down, as he skated behind the net. The two have a history since Kreider took out Price in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the two teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals. Kreider crashed into the net which injured Price in Game 1, and the Canadiens had to finish the series with then back-up goaltender Dustin Tokarski, which they lost.
Although Price had been phenomenal in this game, Lundqvist was not to be overshadowed. One of his best saves came with 11 minutes left in the period. He had gone behind the net to pass the puck down the ice, but Alexander Semin blocked it by the face-off circle. He drove down, and was caught in the corner when he passed it to Desharnais who was right in front of the net. Desharnais wristed it, and Lundqvist made an unbelievable glove save. Lundqvist had to put his glove a bit behind himself to make the save, but he made it look incredibly easy.
Lundqvist came up big for the Rangers again, with five minutes left in the game. He had lost his stick when he poke-checked a shot from Semin. Lars Eller came from behind the net, to pass it to Alex Galchenyuk, who was waiting in front. He took a shot, but Lundqvist, unshaken, made the save. Zuccarello did dive down to poke the puck away, on the off chance that his netminder had not been successful.
Not long after that, and Lundqvist still without a stick, Markov took the puck to the point. He took a slap shot that got to Semin, who tried to put it in the net. Unfortunately, he missed off the post because Lundqvist had eliminated his scoring lanes. He played a full minute before he got his stick back, and was still able to make some key saves despite the pressure that the Canadiens were putting on him.
With approximately two minutes left in the game, Fleischmann took the puck up to the blue line, curling around to pass to Desharnais waiting by the boards next to the face-off circle. He gave it to Dale Weise who skated toward the net, and put the puck past Lundqvist on a quick-release shot. The Canadiens were now up 2-0.
With 1:17 remaining, Vigneault pulled Lundqvist for the extra attacker. The Rangers were able to apply some pressure, but they caught a bad break. With a little more than 30 seconds left, Torrey Mitchell blocked a shot from Boyle, and passed it to Plekanec who cleared it, scoring an empty net goal in the process. The Canadiens were now ahead with a score of 3-0. Lundqvist returned to the net to finish the game.
This was the 35th career shut out for Price. A feat that ranks him 4th All-Time in Career Shut Outs for the Montreal Canadiens. This was also the fifth win for the Canadiens, marking the first time in the teams history that they have started a season with five wins in a row.
