CANADIENS HIT SKIDS WITHOUT ALL-STAR GOALTENDER PRICE
Struggling Habs also feeling the loss of fire plug forward Gallagher
Clinging to a 2-1 third-period lead, it all came apart for the Montreal Canadiens in less than a two-minute span late in the third period.
A power-play goal and a turnover led to two quick Detroit Red Wings goals and once again spelled doom for the bleu, blanc et rouge.
Losers of four straight, the Canadiens have hit the skids for the first time this season. They really miss that guy. Carey Price? Well, yeah. Him too. Certainly, the Canadiens, defeated 3-2 Thursday by the Wings at Joe Louis Arena, would prefer that the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner — currently out for the second time this season with what’s being termed a lower-body injury — be the one guarding their net.
But the guy who drives the bus in Montreal in terms of offence is right-winger Brendan Gallagher, who hasn’t played since breaking two fingers in his left hand after blocking a shot Nov. 22 against the New York Islanders.
He’s their net-front presence, the one who gets the engine revving and ensures that it keeps purring.
When Price was out earlier this season for a nine-game stretch, the Habs were an impressive 5-2-2.
They are 2-4-1 minus him this time around, but to label this entirely a Price-less crisis would be incorrect.
Rookie Mike Condon, in place of Price, is 9-5-3 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
Dustin Tokarski, making his first start of the season Thursday, blocked 26 shots, including a pair of breakaway saves.
Speaking of being in all alone, lately, the Canadiens are to breakaways what the Detroit Lions are to Hail Mary defences. They haven’t got a clue. Montreal missed on four clearcut breakaways Thursday, Andrei Markov and Tomas Fleischmann failing in the first frame and Tomas Plekanec going 0-for-two in the second period.
The Canadiens have potted 11 goals in their last six games, an average of 1.8 game.
That won’t win in anyone’s hockey league, let alone the NHL.
Beyond Gallagher’s nine goals, the Canadiens are also without Torrey Mitchell (five goals) and Devante Smith-Pelly (three).
The Wings didn’t put much thought into Montreal’s woes. We may be on the brink of the holiday season, but there’s no sympathy between the boards.
“I guess I’d let them talk about that,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “For us, we just focus on ourselves.”
On paper, it’s easy to draw parallels between the Habs and Wings, the top two teams in the Atlantic Division.
“I think when we’re playing at our best, we’re a pretty quick, fast team and we transition pretty fast,” Blashill said. “I think when they’re playing their best, they’re a quick, fast team.
“Their D are very involved. Their D are a little more active from a shooting sense. Our D have been a little more active from a motion sense. Both D corps can provide offence.
“They make it hard to get to the net, they don’t give up lots, they’ve had obviously real good goaltending, but I think part of that is the structure with which they play.”
The biggest difference between the two teams is that the Habs don’t suit up a dazzler like Pavel Datsyuk, or finishers of the calibre of Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist.
They get their goals the oldfashioned way — by grinding it out, working harder than the opposition and displaying a willingness to compete for every inch of the ice.
“They have great structure and everybody seems to be dialed in every night for them,” Detroit’s Joakim Andersson said.
It’s getting to the point where the Canadiens may be required to dial 911.
Their Price might not be right, but at the moment for the Habs, every goal is worth its weight in gold.