Habs defence is solid, but offence struggling
CANADIENS VS. SENATORS
Wednesday at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre, 7 p. m., SN, RDS, TSN Radio 690 De- fence! De- fence! The Canadiens have gone 5- 0- 1 in their last six games to climb atop the Eastern Conference standings with a 37- 154 record and the key has been solid defence, led by goaltender Carey Price. He ranks No. 1 in the NHL in goals- against average ( 1.93) and save percentage (. 935), and as a team the Canadiens are by far the stingiest in the NHL, allowing an average of only 2.18 goals a game. The Chicago Blackhawks are second at 2.26. The Canadiens have opened up a two- point lead on Tampa Bay ( 35- 18- 6) in the Atlantic Division and still have three games in hand on the Lightning. The Canadiens are six points up on third- place Detroit ( 31- 14- 10) after beating the Red Wings 2- 0 Monday night.
Tokarski gets start for Habs: Canadiens coach Michel Therrien an-
nounced after Tuesday’s afternoon practice in Ottawa that Dustin Tokarski will start in goal against the Senators and that Price will face the Florida Panthers Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Tokarski has a 5- 4- 2 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Defenceman Andrei Markov didn’t take part in Tuesday’s practice, taking a therapy day. The 36- year- old logged 25: 45 of ice time against the Red Wings after playing 31: 57 in Saturday’s 2- 1 shootout win over Toronto.
Offence struggling: If you want to pick nits, the Canadiens are still having trouble finding the back of the opposition net. They rank 22nd in goals scored, with an average of 2.57 a game, and there has been no offensive contribution from the bottom two lines. Max Pacioretty leads the team in goals ( 26) and points ( 48) and is a leagueleading plus- 29. Tomas Plekanec’s winner in Detroit Monday was his 17th goal of the season and he’s tied with P. K. Subban at 40 points.
Who’s in goal? That’s the question for the Senators, who are reeling after a 6- 3 loss to Carolina Monday night. Craig Anderson is on the injured list with a hand in-
jury and Robin Lehner had to leave Monday’s game after colliding with teammate Clarke MacArthur. They both suffered upper- body injuries and neither player is expected to play Wednesday. Andrew Hammond, who has played two NHL games, will start in goal against the Canadiens and the Senators have called up Chris Dridger from the ECHL’s Evansville Icemen to be the backup.
Take nothing for granted: The Senators ( 22- 23- 10) trail the Canadiens by 24 points in the standings and are 10 points out of a playoff spot, but Montreal can’t afford to be overconfident. The teams split their first two games this season. The Canadiens were 4- 1 winners at home on Dec. 20, but dropped a 4- 1 decision in Ottawa on Jan. 15.
Sick bay: Canadiens defenceman Sergei Gonchar remains day- to- day with an upper- body injury, while forward P. A. Parenteau is working his way through the NHL concussion protocol. In addition to Anderson, Lehner and MacArthur, the Senators are missing Zack Smith ( wrist), Chris Neil ( thumb) and Chris Phillips ( undisclosed injury).