Habs looking like winners, right down the line
The Canadiens looked like a playoff team Saturday night, their No. 1 line looked like a No. 1 line and Carey Price ... well, he was Carey Price.
Again.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Canadiens are looking very good after a 2-1 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, sitting comfortably atop the Atlantic Division standings. Price stopped 21 of 22 shots to win his fourth straight game while allowing only five goals during that span.
The No. 1 line of Phillip Danault between Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov combined for five points, with Danault scoring in regulation time and Radulov in overtime. Danault, who also had an assist, scored for the second straight game and extended his points streak to three games. Radulov also has a three-game points streak, while Pacioretty has a four-game points streak after picking up two assists against the Lightning.
Pacioretty has never hid how much he loves playing with Danault and Radulov and the captain was smiling in the locker room after Saturday’s game.
“I feel a lot of pride when (Radulov) scores and when he contributes offensively because I owe so much to him,” said Pacioretty, who set up Radulov for his one-timer in overtime. “He’s done so much for this team and for myself, to see him get rewarded and see the energy that he plays with night in and night out is really rewarding to our group. He’s such a dynamic payer, that rubs off on the rest of us. He’s a huge part of this team.”
As for Danault, Pacioretty said: “I always tell Phil the points are kind of icing on the cake the way he plays. He’s always in great support, great position, always in great D-zone position. So it’s really, really nice to see him get rewarded and contribute because he does so much stuff away from the puck that allows our line to create offence. I don’t look into points to judge his game because he’s so important to our line. But when the points are there, it means that we’re playing well and it means we’re all feeling good about our game and it says a lot about our chemistry.”
Alex Galchenyuk, the player Danault replaced at centre on the No. 1 line, is still struggling to find chemistry after moving to left wing on a line with Andrew Shaw at centre and Artturi Lehkonen on the right. Galchenyuk, who had a lengthy on-ice discussion with coach Claude Julien at the end of Saturday’s morning skate, had two shots on goal in 14:33 of ice time. He has now gone four games without a goal and has only one in the last 14.
Five seasons and two head coaches into his NHL career, the jury is still out on whether Galchenyuk can ever become the No. 1 centre he was expected to be after the Canadiens selected him with the No. 3 overall pick at the 2012 draft. Galchenyuk can become a restricted free agent this summer.
Meanwhile Danault, who was the No. 26 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2011 NHL draft, is fitting in nicely between Pacioretty and Radulov.
“It’s easier, I think, to work on the offensive side of the puck when you play so well defensively,” Pacioretty said about Danault. “I think it’s a lot harder to do the other way around. When you have those instincts, but you’re not as sharp in your own end and not as sharp in support .... He’s always in great position and always makes it easy on us to make those easy plays.
“I’ve seen a big difference in the offensive side of his game and I can see even more improvements in the future.”
Julien’s face lit up when Danault’s performance was brought up during the coach’s post-game news conference.
“He’s a young player that’s had a lot on his shoulders,” Julien said. “I like the way he’s handling it right now. He’s enjoying it, he’s playing smart, he’s doing a lot of good things. He’s playing against top lines like he did for a good portion of the game tonight and he doesn’t seem intimidated. So I like the fact that he’s done a good job that way and those guys around him are certainly helping him out.”
Said Radulov: “Phillip’s really fast and a good skater. When we start going, he helps a lot. He wins some pucks. We have to talk a lot, we’ve been watching some videos on off-days and try to figure out what we want to get better at. We have to keep continuing to do the right things.”
The Canadiens did a lot of things right Saturday night in Tampa. Their reward was an offday Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, before facing the Florida Panthers Monday night (7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, TSN Radio 690).
We know who will be on the No. 1 line.