Pacioretty would rather score some power- play goals
Max Pacioretty is starting to get his short- handed game in gear, but says it would be nice if he could add a goal or two on the power play.
The struggling Montreal power play went 0 for 4 Saturday night, but Pacioretty’s second shorthanded goal in as many games proved to be the winner as the Canadiens defeated the New York Islanders 3- 1 at the Nassau Coliseum.
“It seems we get a lot of chances playing short- handed, but it would be nice if I could get a few on the power play,” Pacioretty said.
Pacioretty has scored five of his team- leading 34 goals on the power play, but Montreal ranks 26th in the NHL with the man advantage with a 16.1 per cent success rate.
The Canadiens did give up a power- play goal to Josh Bailey late in the third period, but they managed several shots while playing short- handed and Pacioretty benefited from being in the right place at the right time after heads- up plays by defenceman Jeff Petry and forward Lars Eller.
“We’re going for it,” Tomas Plekanec said of the Canadiens’ ability to push the puck forward on the penalty- kill. “We have the players to do it now. It starts with the great dump in. That’s what we got from ( Petry) and Larry ( Eller) did a great job on the forecheck. He was there so quick because he was going hard on not giving them any time.”
Islanders goaltender Michal Neuvirth stopped Petry’s rim shot behind the net and left the puck there, expecting a defenceman to come back and retrieve it. But Eller was the first man on the puck, and he found Pacioretty in front of the net.
Pacioretty also had a shorthanded breakaway in the first period, but Neuvirth was ready when Pacioretty went to his backhand.
Plekanec opened the scoring when he combined with P. A. Parenteau and Alex Galchenyuk on a slick three- way passing play. It was Plekanec’s 20th goal of the season, and it marks the seventh time in his career that he has reached that mark.
“It’s nice to get but, you know I’m not the biggest stats guy,” Plekanec said. “The important thing is that we won. It wasn’t that hard to finish. The other guys made some pretty good passes. We got out of our zone pretty quickly.”
Galchenyuk appeared to have a shot from the slot, but he prefers to make plays, and Plekanec was asked if he expected a pass.
“I’m never sure,” he said. “But he’s a skilled guy, and if we play well defensively, we know the results are going to be there.”
Plekanec said he was happy to see Parenteau collect his first point in 2015. Parenteau missed most of January and February recovering from a concussion and was playing only his fifth game of the year.
“He’s had a tough year, especially with the injury,” Plekanec said. “It’s tough getting back into game shape after a concussion and it was good to see him play a good game tonight.”
Said goalie Carey Price, who made 35 saves and matched his season high with his 38th victory: “It’s definitely good to get two road points. This has been a tough building to play in this season because the crowd’s into the game, but it was good to get the points. It’s a confidence builder.”
Josh Bailey spoiled Price’s shutout with a power- play goal late in the game and the goalie said he was lucky in the second period when Matt Martin had an empty net.
“I don’t think he got all of it.” Price said of Martin’s weak shot. “He kind of fanned on it and I got lucky. It was a pretty play by them, a pass across and a rebound and, fortunately for me, he didn’t get good wood on it.”