Canadiens stay sharp against Sabres
Power-play success on road gives Habs huge advantage
BUFFALO, N.Y. What’s the difference between a fine wine and the Canadiens’ power play? A fine wine doesn’t travel well.
The Canadiens continued to have the NHL’s No. 1 power play on the road as they scored twice on four opportunities Wednesday night en route to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center.
The Canadiens have played 11 games on the road this season and they have scored a power-play goal in each of them. They have scored 13 goals in 42 attempts for a success rate of 30.8 per cent.
“It’s good when you can score a power-play goal in the other team’s building because it takes the crowd out of the game,” said Brendan Gallagher, who scored one of the power-play goals Wednesday. The second-year player leads the Canadiens in goals with nine and power-play goals with four.
David Desharnais scored the other power-play goal and assisted on Gallagher’s. He became the 12th different Hab to score on the power play this season, and coach Michel Therrien said that speaks to the depth on the team.
“When we decide which line to send out on the power play, we look at which lines are playing well that night,” Therrien said. “We have three lines that are capable of playing on the power play and that gives us some choices.”
The power play starts with quarterback Andrei Markov and shooter P.K. Subban on the points. Teams have been overloading on Subban to take his shot away, but he figured on the Desharnais goal.
Desharnais is one of the smallest players on the ice but he can usually be found in the dirty areas around the net and that was the case when he established position in front of Ryan Miller and deflected Subban’s low shot from the point. After a slow start to the season, Desharnais has scored twice in the last three games and both goals have been the result of deflections.
Subban managed only one shot on goal and had three others blocked and four were off target. But when teams pay too much attention to Subban, it opens other avenues and Desharnais found Gallagher alone in the middle on the insurance goal.
While the power play grabbed the headlines, Therrien said the Habs’ penaltykilling unit deserved some attention. The team was shorthanded only once, but it was for four minutes after Alex Galchenyuk received a double minor for high-sticking Steve Ott. The Canadiens escaped unscathed, holding the Sabres to three shots on goal.