MONTREAL, Que.— Everyone at the Bell Centre wanted to know how the Montreal Canadiens would react after trailing in a game for the first time in 2015-16.
When Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin scored a softie on Carey Price less than five minutes into the second period of Saturday’s game, the Canadiens were put to the test.
Less than three minutes later, Montreal responded on the power play.
They took the lead early in the third period, added two more goals, and outshot Detroit 20-5 in the frame.
Granted, the Red Wings were in Detroit losing to Carolina Friday while the Canadiens were refreshed after a hard fought win against the New York Rangers Thursday, but that doesn’t detract from the effort they put in to win their sixth straight game.
“I like the fact that guys take a lot of pride about their responsibilities,” said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. “I like the fact that they take a lot of pride about being a group of players that work extremely hard.”
Therrien also has to like the fact that for four (or arguably five) out of the six games Montreal has played, they haven’t been overly reliant on Price. They’ve dominated puck possession and scored three or more goals in all of their games so far.
“We made some changes over the course of the summer and we believe that it helped our team a lot, and it changed the philosophy of our team,” said Therrien.
It shows.
Petry’s premonition
Coming into the game, none of Montreal’s defencemen had scored a goal.
Jeff Petry changed that 6:32 into the third period when he ripped a one-timer through forward David Desharnais’ screen to beat goaltender Petr Mrazek with Montreal’s second powerplay marker of the game.
“I turned to [Tom] Gilbert in the second and said, ‘I have a feeling a [defenceman] is going to get one tonight’,” said Petry. “We were due, so when I came back to the bench he was laughing and said, ‘you called it’.”
Those weren’t the only things Petry did right in this game.
He had three shots on net, led the Canadiens with five hits, and had a 60 per cent Corsi For at even strength despite starting nearly 40 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” said Therrien. “He scored a big goal tonight, obviously. I like the fact that he’s capable of jumping into the play, I like the fact that he’s played really solid defensively.”
Petry was voted the first star of the game. The honour was well earned.
Brendan Gallagher, crease crasher
After starting the season with zero goals in five games, Gallagher found a way to break through in the most Gallagher way possible.
“I won’t score too many like that,” said Gallagher.
But how many times have we seen him end up in the net with the puck after scoring a goal?
“As soon as that went in, I was like, ‘there’s no other player in the league that gets a bounce like that,” said Canadiens forward Dale Weise. “That’s just so Gally. But you go to the net and good things happen.”
It wasn’t so good for Detroit.
The goal was a major turning point in the game, and after the officials reviewed the play and concluded that Gallagher didn’t make a distinct kicking motion at the puck, the Red Wings had ample reason to dispute the goal on the grounds of goaltender interference.
“I thought that’s what the coach’s challenge is for,” said Detroit’s captain Henrik Zetterberg.
Mrazek said he disagreed with the goal being allowed.
But Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill wasn’t inclined to make a fuss, though he hinted at bringing it up with the league behind closed doors.
Larkin on fire
Just as good things happen when you go to the net, good thing happen when you shoot the puck.
Innocuous as it was, Larkin’s decision to float a backhand into Price from an impossible angle put the Red Wings on the board.
Larkin now has points in all of his first five games in the NHL (two goals, four assists).
In addition to scoring on Saturday, he led Detroit’s forwards in ice time, tied for the team lead in shot attempts with five, had two hits, and won the only faceoff he took. He was by far Detroit’s most dangerous player in the game.
Montreal’s balance is undeniable
Not a single Canadiens forward played under 11:30 on Saturday. It says everything there is to say about the balance of their lineup.
The Canadiens haven’t had to short-shift any of their forwards in the six wins. As a result, the players are all confident and comfortable in their roles, and everyone feels like they’re contributing to the team’s success.
“When you don’t have to worry about matchups, when you know that all lines are firing and that any line can go out there against any pairing, it’s definitely a lot easier to play,” said Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty Saturday morning. “If we keep going that way, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
Canadiens reversing first-period woes
In the 20th minute of the first period, Price made this save on Gustav Nyquist, who came into the game having scored in each of his last two contests.
The save preserved Montreal’s streak of not allowing a goal in the first period in any of their six games.
After six games last season, the Canadiens allowed nine first-period goals. It was a trend that continued, as they allowed the seventh most goals against in the first period.
As for scoring in the first, only the Florida Panthers did it less than the Canadiens in 2014-15.