Canadiens Lineup

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Jonathan Drouin – Max Domi – Andrew Shaw

Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Joel Armia 

Artturi Lehkonen – Nate Thompson – Dale Weise

Victor Mete – Shea Weber

 Jordie Ben – Jeff Petry

Brett Kulak – Christian Folin

Carey Price – Antti Niemi

Charles Hudon, Nicolas Deslauriers, Jordan Weal, Matthew Peca, Mike Reilly

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Game Report by Chris G

Montreal came into Madison Square Garden and left with the two points against a non-playoff team by beating the Rangers 4-2. It was a must win for the Canadiens as the teams they are battling for a wildcard spot, the Hurricanes and Penguins, were in action and both got points in their respective games. 

Claude Julien didn’t make any changes to the lineup, meaning Jordan Weal has to wait to play his first game with his new team. With the win, don’t expect him to make his debut against Pittsburgh on Saturday. 

Joel Armia obtained his first career hat trick to lead the team offensively. Armia capitalized on puck that took a funny bounce off the glass from Christian Folin‘s clear that Henrik Lundqvist wasn’t able to control. Armia scored his third goal being into an empty net. The last time Armia had a multi goal game was against Columbus on January 18th, when he scored two goals without a goalie in the net.

In his usual fashion, Carey Price made several key saves to keep his team in the game most notably in the first period. Vladislav Namestnikov looked up in the rafters after Price made a key pad save during the second period that could have changed the entire game if the puck would have gone in the net. 

The turning point of the game was when Brendan Gallagher tied the game at 1 in the second period when he scored his 28th of the season. It was Gallagher’s 24th even strength goal of the season, which places him tied for seventh in the league. The Canadiens outshot their opponents 15-5 from that point until the end of the period. 

Artturi Lehkonen‘s goal drought extended to 27 games, but he was the best forward of the team in the first period. He finished the period with three shots on goal, drew a penalty, had several scoring chances and was consistently around Lundqvist’s crease.  

Plus / Minus

▲  Carey Price, Artturi Lehkonen, Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia

▼  Jordie Benn, Dale Weise, Brett Kulak