HABS CONTINUE HOT START
Weber scores first goal as Canadien
The bottom line: Goaltender Carey Price looked sharp in his season debut as the Canadiens beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Price, who missed the first three games while battling a severe case of the flu, made 27 saves for the win. The win boosted the Canadiens’ record to 3-0-1 and they moved into first place in the Atlantic Division.
Long time coming: Defenceman Alexei Emelin gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead when he scored on a slapshot at 13:20 of the first period. Emelin unloaded from the left faceoff circle and beat Louis Domingue to the far post. Emelin’s last goal was scored on March 17, 2015. Mitchell finds the spot: The teams were playing 4-on-4 when Torrey Mitchell scored at 2:07 of the second period. Mitchell was in the left faceoff circle when he
converted a pass from Nathan Beaulieu.
Weber breaks the ice: Defenceman Shea Weber scored his first goal as a Canadien with a slapshot from the left point during a power play at 4:06 of the second period. The Canadiens went 1-for-4 with the extra man. The Coyotes were 0-for-2 with the extra man and the Canadiens’ penalty killers have now allowed only one goal on 19 opportunities.
Game over for Domingue: When Alex Galchenyuk made it 4-0 at 5:49, it signalled the end for Domingue, who was replaced by Justin Peters. Galchenyuk scored off the rush for his first goal of the season. It was a disappointing night for Domingue, who came into the game with a 2-0 record against the Canadiens. The St. Hyacinthe native was a winner in his first NHL start, Feb. 1, 2015 at the Bell Centre. Peters, who was called up from Tucson of the AHL on an emergency basis after starter Mike Smith suffered a leg injury in Ottawa Tuesday, stopped 23 of 24 shots to give the Coyotes a chance to come back. Rookie Artturi Lehkonen beat him at
12:38 to seal the victory.
Coyotes go down fighting: The Coyotes deserve credit for mounting a comeback after falling behind 4-0. Price was lying on his back after making a glove save when rookie defenceman Jakob Chychrun scored at 6:36 of the second period to cut the Montreal lead to 4-1. It was Chychrun’s first NHL goal. Laurent Dauphin, a 28-year-old journeyman from Repentigny, added a short-handed goal at 16:09 of the second period after Beaulieu made an errant pass after he was hit while trying to exit the Canadiens zone.
Redmond out six weeks: Defenceman Zach Redmond, who has been a healthy scratch since the season began, suffered a broken foot in practice Thursday. He is expected to miss six weeks and has been placed on the injured reserve list. The move leaves the Canadiens with 22 players on the active roster, one below the NHL limit.
What’s next: The Canadiens hit the road to play the Boston Bruins Saturday (7 p.m., City, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690). They return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.