CANADIENS
Montreal

3-1

ISLANDERS
New York

Game Notes:

With the Canadiens near the top of the standings, who deserves the credit? Lately, it seems to be fashionable to liberally spread around the praise. It has been often repeated that ‘you don’t get to first place without a great coach.’  Or can you? After the game in Long Island, many of the locals talked about a complete team effort.

And, they say goaltending has been good too.

Is the fact that Carey Price carries this team being underplayed?  For fans, it’s scary to think about so much resting on one player (and the memory of Chris Kreider ending his 2014 playoffs hasn’t faded.) And for the media, it’s almost impossible to imagine that Price can play at such an extraordinary level for such a sustained period of time.

Have we all run out of superlatives for Price? Are we beginning to take his play for granted?  For perspective, let’s look at the game from the other side.  Here’s how Brett Cyrgalis from the New York Post summed up the match:

“What is happening to a lot of teams is walking away from Price just shaking their heads. The Montreal netminder is frontrunner for the MVP, and he showed just why on this night, making 34 saves, some of them jaw-dropping, while his Canadiens (43-19-7) kept pace atop the conference and the league.”

Shaking their heads. Like Matt Martin who was robbed by an acrobatic behind-the-back save. Or in the case of Frans Neilsen who was stopped on a breakaway chance, you look at your stick.

Isles coach Jack Capuano talked about the Canadiens “MVP goalie” who made three or four game-changing saves.  The Islanders are a very good hockey team, one of seven in the league with 90 points or more. But they could not beat Price until a six-on-four opportunity with just over two minutes left in the game.

Good defense, you say? No, a sensational Carey Price.

Price’s brilliant goaltending requires a handful of good performances from the skaters (someone has to score) and a whole lot of barnacles stuck to the side of this division-leading ship.

Carey Price is leaving NHL teams bewildered. They do all the right things but still can’t beat Price and the Canadiens.  Shot attempts were 72-45 for the Isles.  New York outhit Montreal 36-22. And they were superior in the faceoff circle 54-46 per cent.

The supporting cast for Price on this night included Lars Eller (who was arguably the Canadiens best forward) and Tomas Plekanec, each had six shots on goal. Plekanec had a goal while Eller had a goal and an assist.  Max Pacioretty had a shorthanded goal on four shots.

Plus / Minus

▲     Carey Price, Lars Eller, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Markov, Jeff Petry, Andrei Markov, Tom Gilbert, P.K. Subban

▼     P.A. Parenteau, Devante Smith-Pelly, Dale Weise, Nathan Beaulieu, David Desharnais

1.  Carey Price  MTL
2.  Max Pacioretty  MTL
3.  Tomas Plekanec  MTL

• “Carey Price was Carey Price. He’s a dominant player. He’s a special player. Again tonight, he was a true leader for us.”
• “There was a lot of intensity on the part of both teams. I liked the way we competed, especially because we’ve had a few difficulties in that department lately. When you compete, emotion comes with it. You won’t have emotion if you don’t compete.”

Max Pacioretty

• “We liked our performance. We’re always trying to get better, maybe play a little bit better with that lead and put some more pressure on them rather than sitting back. But, we can’t get too greedy. That’s a good game for our club, especially against a desperate team on the road. Obviously, you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Pricer as well. I think all things considered, we kept it pretty smart out there. We made the right decisions with the puck, getting it deep, and playing smart with the lead. It’s a good start in the right direction. We want to build off that and get rolling here before playoffs.”
• “It’s something that we haven’t been rewarded with a lot this year, but the opportunities have been there. We’re always saying that if we don’t score, we want to get momentum on the penalty kill. There’s nothing like scoring a shorty for the team. For the bench, it definitely helps with the momentum.“

Lars Eller

• “I’d say it’s one of our best 60-minute games lately. There are still things we can improve on that we’ve done better in the past, but I think it was a step in the right direction for sure.  We had to skate because the Islanders are a fast team, and a team that skates a lot, too. We knew that we had to match them in that department. For us, it was about bringing that effort, and when we do that, we usually get the results we’re looking for.”

Carey Price

• Carey Price on his calm demeanor in goal: “It’s a personality trait that you get from your parents, I think. My Dad is a very laid-back person. He’s very soft spoken. My Mom is too, for the most part (with a grin.)”

Islanders forward Matt Martin

• “We had 35-plus shots and a fair amount of opportunities. We had a lot of chances around the net, (Carey) Price made some good saves on some and others we just couldn’t find the back of the net either. It’s frustrating, but there’s not much you can do about it. You’ve just got to get ready for the next one.”

Islanders coach Jack Capuano

• “We dictated the play in the third period, and that’s what you ask your guys to do. We tweaked the lines, we didn’t give them much. Obviously, [the Canadiens have] an MVP goalie there. I thought [Carey Price] played well. He made three or four saves that were outstanding. They could have changed the game around.”