Montreal 2 San Jose 3 (HP Pavilion)
The Shark Tank has proven to be an inhospitable place for the Canadiens, who haven’t won in San Jose since November 23, 1999.
However, the Sharks came into the game with two consecutive regulation losses, a season-high streak. San Jose’s coach Todd McLellan was very critical of his team’s effort Tuesday night against New Jersey and had challenged them to get more shots on goal.
The Sharks fired everything they had at Carey Price and after two periods trailed the Canadiens 2-to-1 despite outshooting them 29-to-19. San Jose had excellent scoring chances but the play of Price was simply sensational. The Canadiens were riding the brilliance of their goaltender who made many hi-light reel saves.
The Sharks were showing signs of frustration. Play became chippy. The Habs were gaining confidence and moved to the third period with a record of 19-1-0 when leading after two periods.
“It’s very good for our preparation for the playoffs,” Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said. “You’re going to play in one of those games where the goalie is making big save, save after save. You can possibly get a little frustrated, which is easy to do.”
Then early in the third period, after Scott Nichol hit the post, he was driven into the boards from behind by Max Lapierre. It was a dirty and potentially dangerous hit by Lapierre. Although the play went unpenalized, expect it to be reviewed by the NHL’s Colin Campbell for possible supplementary discipline. Nichol did not return to the game.
“There was, as far as I’m concerned, a really dirty hit on our guy Scott Nichol.” said Boyle. “Pushing a guy from behind into the boards, I have not seen the reply yet, but you can paralyze a guy and there is no place for that in hockey.”
The Sharks outrage was amplified as Lapierre sat laughing about the incident on the Canadiens bench. San Jose’s frustration was replaced by determination. The team had a rallying point.
“It was an Eastern Conference team so you don’t really expect that,” Boyle said. “They’re fighting for their playoff lives and we’re fighting to get our game back on track. It was a chippy game out there. Sometimes it’s good for the team to rally around that and get together. It was a very weird game, a lot of weird things happened out there but we stuck together and won the game.”
The Canadiens were on their heels for a good portion of the third period. Price continued to keep his team in the game including getting the better of Boyle on a penalty shot.
The Habs’ old nemesis referee Chris Lee was determined to grab some headlines with his usual brand of officiating. A weak call on Roman Hamrlik was all that was needed with San Jose getting a power-play goal from Dany Heatley to tie the game.
Two and a half minutes later the Sharks took the lead for good with the Canadiens running around in their own end. The Sharks took some satisfaction victimizing Lapierre on the winning goal.
While Price made 37 saves, the Sharks directed a whopping 85 shots on net. Hal Gill, Roman Hamrlik, and Jaroslav Spacek combined for 13 of the 26 blocked shots by Canadiens.
The Canadiens spent a good deal of the time trying to retrieve the puck with their six centers in the lineup recording a dreadful 31 per cent at the faceoff dot.
Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta had strong games for the Habs each getting a goal and an assist.
“We had a chance to take two points.” said Gomez. “Carey held us in there and they just got one by there at the end. We know we can play with anyone. That’s a great team over there.”
San Jose, the “great team”, is in second place in the league after tonight’s game. While the 23rd place team kept the game close they spoiled a gem of a performance by their goaltender.
The Canadiens continue their road trip with a visit to Los Angeles for a game against the Kings on Saturday night.
Rocket’s three stars
1. Carey Price
2. Dany Heatley
3. Patrick Marleau
Honorable mention: Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Getty)
If this was game #40, I'd say it was one of those "good" losses, where you play well against a good opponent, but lose anyway. Something to build on. But it's not game 40, or 50, or even 60. It was game #64 and given the playoff race, the 2 points were critical. The loss is especially damaging when you consider that Eastern rivals won games last night, and considering the Habs had a 19-1 record when leading after 2. Given those things, they HAD to find a way to squeeze at least a point out of last night's game.
Let's hope that Jacques Martin puts on his hard hat and benches Lapierre. It is unnacceptable to take a penalty like that, at that time and give a team like the Sharks life.
The fact of the matter is that it's too late to finish low enough to draft high, so it's playoffs-or-bust. The job of getting there just got a lot harder, and isn't getting any easier with games vs the Kings and Ducks on deck.
Another 2 points lost because Price is in nets rather then Halak. All year long Price has been given starts that he didn`t deserve and the Habs will miss the playoffs because of it.
Every team now knows that to get to Price just crash the net a few times. Price will lose his cool and pucks go by him.
Lastly the rebound control. How many times did Price kick out those big fat rebounds to the Shark players. I`d say at least 10 of the shots against came from poor rebound control.
Will Price be around to ruin next season as well? I`m afraid so.
Ain't gonna win games if you stop skating. They did that all night on the defencive side. Just stood around and waited for the Sharks to do whatever, to take their shots, prefered to block the shot over attacking or just letting them get a good shot on Price. Not enough killer instinct from the skaters.
What happened on that shorthanded goal was a prime example. Sharks had no business having that puck let alone shooting it on net and the 3 guys skating around looked like they couldn't be bothered to try and challenge them for it. Pretty much the only guy consistently interested in getting the puck was Price. He deserves better…
Kyle – You're right that the Habs are well beyond being happy that they stood toe-to-toe with someone above them in the standing for a couple of periods.
It's painfully obvious to everyone except Jacques Martin that the 'get a lead and hang on' strategy does not work.
JM's demotion of Sergei Kostitsyn today is a glaring indication that that he is out of touch with his team and what is required to win.
This rollercoaster season seems to be setting up for exactly what Gauthier said he didn't want: The Habs squeezing into the playoffs if at all.
Well Anon, all I can say is good move on hiding your identity.
Anyone who can watch the game (giving you the benefit of the doubt that you actually watched) and criticize Price doesn't have the first clue about hockey.
Excellent comment Number 31.
It was certainly surprising to me that we Price standing on his head that the team couldn't use that as a rallying point to step up their game. One wonders if that lack of intensity is coached by insisting on cautious play.
No matter, there is no excuse for Spacek and Markov's lazy play on the shorthanded goal. They didn't show any desire to be first on the puck.
Any criticism directed at Price for this loss is simply the work of someone trying to shake the beehive. Price was fantastic vs the Sharks and is not to be faulted for the loss.
I will say that there will come a point in his career where I would expect a franchise goalie to pull out a win no matter who the opponent is, and how badly his mates abandon him, but I don't think it's fair to ask or expect that of him yet.
Spacek and Markov have been subpar lately. We can spend all day discussing why they haven't been as good as they can be, but the bottom line is they are leaders on the blueline and key to the team's fortunes. Markov has been hit and miss lately, and Spacek has been a bust on the power play (which is why he was signed).
@All_Habs I think it's clear that Martin is not going to change his stripes now. His stubborn insistence on playing by his own rules rather than the reality of the new NHL is likely going to cost this team a playoff spot. We've seen what this team is capable of when they go full bore for 60 minutes: wins against Vancouver, Pittsburgh and Washington. Why can't add 2 and 2 is beyond me, but it seems obvious that we are stuck with him now that his good pal is his boss. If you believe the reports, Gauthier has a 3 year extension, and Martin has 3 years left after this one. Coincidence?
As for his demotion of SK…again, puzzling. A month ago I wouldn't have raised an eyebrow, but #74 has been playing quite well of late. I guess it's something we will have to get used to because once Cammalleri is good to go, he's the odd man out (unless you think Pouliot, Plekanec, Gionta, Gomez or AK46 will be demoted). Sadly, if SK74 is not a top 6 guy in an offensive role, I don't know what use he will be as a bottom 6 guy.
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