‘It’s always nice when you beat your old team,’ Tatar crows after scoring winner
Tomas Tatar wasn’t in Las Vegas long enough to forge any strong bonds, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t take extra satisfaction in the Canadiens’ 5-4 win over the Golden Knights on Saturday at the Bell Centre. “It’s always nice when you beat your old team,” said Tatar, who provided the winning goal at 12:17 of the third period. The Golden Knights acquired Tatar at the trade deadline last season, but he had difficulty finding ice on an established lineup that would reach the Stanley Cup final. He was traded to the Canadiens as part of the package for Max Pacioretty. Prospect Nick Suzuki was identified as the key player in the deal that also gave Montreal a second-round draft choice, but Tatar is hitting his stride after a slow start. He has four goals in the past three games and seven for the season to go along with eight assists. He was looking for an assist when he scored what he described as a “lucky goal.” “I was trying to pass the puck to Phil (Danault) and it found its way in,” Tatar said. Pacioretty didn’t have as much success against his former team, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. He had nine of the Golden Knights’ 38 shots on goal, but failed to earn a point. He’s stuck on two goals through 13 games. Andrew Shaw scored two goals and had a chance to wear the rodent-fur trimmed Game of Thrones cape as the game’s first star. Both of his goals were the result of going to the net and feasting on loose pucks. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Canadiens, who have the third-best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-5-3. “It’s only a few games I’ve felt I’ve been doing what I need to do so it’s something I got to stay on and keep competing and doing,” Shaw said. “But it feels pretty good.” Pacioretty’s return and the buzz created by the Golden Knights and their Stanley Cup run last season produced only the third sellout in 10 games at the Bell Centre, and Shaw described the energy in the building as “absolutely amazing.” “It’s pretty cool, it’s fun,” Shaw said when asked about being named the first star. “You go out there and feel the energy even after the game and doing the interviews, it’s pretty surreal.” Rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to make strides. He set up Charles Hudon for a goal and scored once himself, going to the net and converting a set-up from Artturi Lehkonen. Hudon was cutting to the net when Kotkaniemi set him up. Hudon faked a forehand shot and then went to his backhand. “I was worried that Flower (Vegas goaltender Marc-André Fleury) was going to poke me,” Hudon said. “He always tries to poke me, but he didn’t.” Coach Claude Julien said it wasn’t a perfect game, but he liked the way his team bounced back from 0-2 and 3-4 deficits. The return of David Schlemko made it possible for Julien to spread the workload for his defencemen and workhorse Jeff Petry was limited to 20:03. Mike Reilly and Jordie Benn had more ice time and Schlemko checked in at an even 20 minutes in his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury. “For a guy who hasn’t played, he did a great job,” Julien said. “He’s a smart player, he sees the ice well and doesn’t panic.” “I felt it,” Schlemko said when told about his ice time. “My conditioning is pretty good after being bag-skated for a few weeks, but it’s not the same as game condition.”