All Habs GameDay: Saturday April 6, 2013

On this day in hockey history… In 1957 – Maurice Richard tied Newsy Lalonde and Ted Lindsay for the NHL record with four goals in one Stanley Cup Finals’ game, leading Montreal to 5-1 playoff win over Bruins in Game 1.

PROJECTED LINE COMBINATIONS AND GOALTENDERS
(Will be updated following game day skate.)

TOP SCORERS

► Fourth and final matchup against the Bruins: 

• Here we go again!
• The Montreal Canadiens last played the Bruins just ten days ago in Boston and the Habs came out victorious, winning the game 6-5 in a shootout.
• The Bruins had won the first match up between both teams 2-1 in Montreal back on February 6. The Canadiens have since won the next two match ups in Boston by the scores of 4-3 and 6-5. All three match up were one goal games.
• The last game between both teams had it’s fair share of excitement with the Canadiens coming from behind in the third after trailing by two goals and taking it in the shootout.
• The outcome of this matchup will decide who finishes the night in first place of the Northeast Division.

►Why Carey Price should be in the net for this game:

• Carey Price is the clear number one goaltender of the Montreal Canadiens and Peter Budaj is his backup, a role which he has accepted and appears to embrace.
• For other teams, it’s different. There are teams which rely on a system where both goaltenders alternate, but that’s not the case for the Canadiens.
• Budaj’s role is largely to be able to step into the net when Michel Therrien feels that Price needs some rest. He’s had two days of rest and it doesn’t need to be extended to five with the Canadiens playing their next game on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.
• I understand why some people feel Budaj should play, coming off a win against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday; having come in relief of Price in the last match up before that against Boston and obtaining the win; and having been the only Habs goaltender to beat Boston this season, I get that.
• Price however isn’t only the number one goaltender, he’s the better goaltender, and one of the better ones in the league.
• He has the better technique, skills, abilities, record, numbers, you name it. It’s no mistake that Price is number five in the league at even-strength for goalies having played at least 20 games this season, and with the Bruins’ mediocre power play, even-strength is probably where this game will be won or lost.
• Price had a rough one against Boston in the last match up? Maybe, statistically at least. But the same happened against the Pittsburgh Penguins back on February 3, when Price was peppered for seven in a 7-6 loss in overtime. He then came back with a solid performance on February 26 against these same Pens, when he only allowed one goal stopping 24 of 25 shots directed against him. The Habs didn’t get the win, losing 1-0 on a perfect top-corner goal by Sidney Crosby, but Price had nonetheless risen up to the test.
• There’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to do this again against the Bruins.

► Ryder and Subban join Pacioretty on the 30 point plateau:

• On Thursday against the Jets, Michael Ryder scored two goals and picked up an assist while P.K. Subban had two assists. This allowed both players to reach the 30-point plateau, along with Max Pacioretty.
• Ryder currently leads the team in goals (15) and total points (31).
• P.K. Subban on the other hand leads the team in total assists (20), leads all NHL defecemen in goals (10) and total points (30).
• It’s absolutely okay for everyone to include Subban in their Norris Trophy conversations.

► Rookie Watch:

• Thursday night against the Jets, Alex Galchenyuk found the back of the net while Brendan Gallagher was held off the scoresheet.
• This was a particularly strong game for Galchenyuk who had recently received some criticism (from fans mostly) for not producing on a consistent basis.
• Gallagher totals 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points on the season.
• Galchenyuk now has 4 goals and 13 assists for 17 points on the season.
• Respectively, they rank third and eighth for total points amongst rookies in the league.

Top 10 NHL Rookies / Total Points

1. Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA): 13G, 12A, 25PTS
2. Cory Conacher (TBL): 9G, 15A, 24PTS
3. Brendan Gallagher (MTL): 11G, 10A, 21PTS
4. Brandon Saad (CHI): 8G, 13A, 21PTS
5. Nail Yakupov (EDM): 9G, 11A, 20PTS
6. Justin Schultz (EDM): 6G, 14A, 20PTS
7. Mike Zibanejab (OTT): 6G, 12A, 18PTS
8. Alex Galchenyuk (MTL): 4G, 13A, 17PTS
9. Jakob Silfverberg (OTT): 8G, 8A, 16PTS
10. Vladimir Tarasenko (STL): 8G, 8A, 16PTS

Habs vs Jets Game Recap

Coach Michel Therrien:

• “Lars played a good game tonight. He was intense, was battling hard. He filled his role really well. He put the puck at the net, was responsible. He’s a kid that’s getting better and better.”
• “Tonight we gave [Galchenyuk] an opportunity to play center. He was managing the puck well, was solid both sides of the ice. We wanted to pay attention to who he was on the ice against.”

Alex Galchenyuk:

• “You always try to bring something. For the last month, it wasn’t goals. I try to work hard, do the little plays. Not scoring for a month and a half or whatever it was, it gets frustrating. Glad to have one tonight.”

Peter Budaj:

• “My uncle never saw me play before, so that was fun. I was glad I was able to get the start at the Bell Centre in front of a home crowd. I’m very appreciative of that, and the team played great in front of me.”

Brian Gionta on being credited for a goal shot by Lars Eller that glanced off his thigh:

• “I apologized to [Eller] for getting in the way, but I’ll take it any time. Good thing I’m tall, eh?”