Niemi solid in net, offence gets job done in 3-1 victory
New York suffers setback in its wild-card quest as Niemi posts strong game in net
The bottom line: Antti Niemi turned in another strong performance in goal and the Canadiens provided him with some offensive support as Montreal defeated the New York Islanders 3-1 Wednesday night at the Bell Centre. Niemi, who is 4-1-1 in his last six starts for the Canadiens, made 27 saves. Since he joined the Canadiens after being waived by Pittsburgh and Florida, Niemi has posted a 4-2-2 record.
Costly loss for Islanders: It was the second-consecutive loss for the Islanders, who are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. The loss left them four points behind Columbus in the battle for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and the Blue Jackets have a game in hand.
Making the most of their chances: Montreal had 10 shots on goal in the second period, while New York had nine, but the Canadiens scored twice to take a 3-1 lead. Jonathan Drouin gave the Canadiens their first lead of the night when he scored a power-play goal at 8:29. He beat Jaroslav Halak with a shot from the left faceoff circle for his 10th goal of the season. Nikita Scherbak, who returned to the lineup after a four-game absence, scored his second goal of the season at 13:37. Scherbak was going to the net when he took a pass from Brendan Gallagher and lifted the puck over Halak’s left pad. Rookie vs. rookie: Matthew Barzal showed why he’s the favourite to win the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year when he opened the scoring at 3:50 of the first period. Barzal took a pass from Jordan Eberle in the neutral zone, blew past Canadiens rookie defenceman Noah Juulsen and lifted a backhander over Niemi’s blocker. It was the 18th goal of the season for Barzal, who leads the rookie scoring race with 67 points, 15 more than Vancouver’s Brock Boeser. Byron nets equalizer: Paul Byron tied the score when he recorded his 15th goal of the season at 11:02 of the first period. Artturi Lehkonen earned an assist on the play when he grabbed a loose puck behind the net and threaded a pass through traffic to Byron in the high slot.
Crazy power play: Montreal had three shots on goal during a firstperiod power play after former Canadien Brandon Davidson slashed Gallagher. The Habs also had a chance when Scherbak hit a post. But the Canadiens also gave up three short-handed breakaways. Niemi made stops on Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson, while a second shot by Cizikas sailed over the net. On the night, the Canadiens went 1-for-2 on the power play while the Islanders were 0-for-2.
A rainbow of support: The Canadiens warmed up in jerseys featuring a rainbow motif on their numbers and nameplates to raise awareness for You Can Play, an organization dedicated to the eradication of homophobia in sport. On the road again: After going 2-02 at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens take the NHL’s worst road record (8-19-2) on a six-game trip, which kicks off Friday with a rematch against the Islanders at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN-690 Radio). The Canadiens move on to Boston Saturday to play the Bruins with a rare 5 p.m. start. Other stops on the trip include New Jersey, Sunrise, Fla., Tampa and Columbus.