Habs look to bounce back against Flyers
Therrien defends Price after abysmal performance in net
The Canadiens have made a habit of bouncing back after one-sided defeats and they hope to continue that trend after absorbing a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre.
“On our side it’s frustrating, but we have to turn the page,” defenceman P.K. Subban said. “We have a big game against Philly and we have to get ready for that.”
This is one of those times when the shortened season helps the Canadiens because they don’t have any time to mope over this loss. They play the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., TSN-HABS,
RDS, TSN Radio 690) to begin a stretch of four games in six nights.
Goaltender Carey Price gave up three goals on the first four shots he faced Saturday, but Subban said the Canadiens didn’t feel they were out of the game.
“We tried to keep grinding at it,” Subban said. “At one point it was a 3-1 game. Being down by two goals after the first period is not horrible. It’s better than 5-1. We have to stick to the game plan and play with more sense of urgency.”
Coach Michel Therrien yanked Price at the 10:25 mark of the first period after he gave up three goals on four shots. But the coach wasn’t ready to throw his No. 1 goaltender under the bus.
“It was a tough night for him, but those things happen in a career,” Therrien said. “He’s a good kid, he cares. But Carey’s had a good season, he has character and I know he’s going to bounce back. I have no doubt about that.”
While Therrien has said the Canadiens’ goal is to win every game, he was able to see some positives in the loss.
“We came to play and I thought we were setting the tone in the first period,” said Therrien, whose team outshot the Leafs 13-5 in the first 20 minutes. “We skated well, we were managing the puck well. We were playing our game, but every time the puck was on our net it went in. I’m sure Carey would like to see some of those shots again, but we take the loss as a team. There were a lot of times this season when he has been fantastic and we were fair as a team. It’s always about balance.”
Said Price: “There were two that I wanted back. I put us behind the eight ball, but it wasn’t a lack of focus. It was just one of those nights”
The statistics backed up Therrien’s suggestion that the Canadiens controlled the play. They outshot the Leafs 37-28, but also had 22 shots blocked while another 18 were off target.
There was a lot of talk about the historic rivalry between these teams, but when Therrien was asked whether the rivalry had been revived because both teams appear headed to the playoffs, he replied: “I don’t think so.”
“These are two great markets and it’s good for the league that both teams are winning,” the coach added. “But rivalry, honestly, is built in the playoffs and we haven’t played this team for a long time in the playoffs. There’s a rivalry with the Bruins because we’ve played them a lot in the playoffs. (The Leafs) are a good team in a good market, but I can’t say it’s huge rivalry because we haven’t played them since 1979 (in the playoffs).”
The Leafs have taken three of four games from the Canadiens this season and have outscored Montreal 15-7.
“We have to find an answer for them and we get them one more time at the end of the season,” captain Brian Gionta said, referring to the April 27 game in Toronto that marks the end of the regular season. “This game is something we want to forget and put behind us. We were off on our passes, off on our chances and just out of sync the whole game. When we’re skating and when we’re moving and forcing turnovers and exploiting the other team’s D down low, we’re a good team. We weren’t able to establish that tonight.
“They got some bounces and we ended up chasing them all game,” Gionta added. “We never quit, but it wasn’t our night.”