Top Six Minutes

Canadiens vs Blues Top Six Minutes: Price blanks Blues for 7th straight win

Carey Price stoned Tarasenko and company to pad the Montreal Canadiens' record seventh straight win to open the season. The St. Louis Blues dominated early, but fell victim to the NHL's best glove. Pacioretty, Semin and Mitchell had the Habs' goals.

By Matthew Macaskill Updated Oct 20, 2015, 11:57pm EDT

For our new readers and members, the Top Six Minutes is a continuation of the discussion in the game thread. We try to keep it light and entertaining. Full recaps are up the morning after every game.

The St. Louis Blues came into the game leading the Western Conference with a 5-1-0 record and sit second overall in league standings behind your Montreal Canadiens. Vladimir Tarasenko is an awfully dangerous, talented player with nine points through six games, good enough for a three-way tie for first among the NHL's early leaders.

But can Vlad beat Carey? Will Therrien match power with power and send the durable Tomas Plekanec & Co. to contain the Russian sniper? Could we see Galchenyuk rise to the occasion and out-duel #91?

Let's find out!

Pregame

How will the Habs fare in the Justin Trudeau era? One thing is for certain, Les Canadiens have Canada's new leader's support. Here's proof.
It's hard to believe that Montreal, given its glorious hockey history, never amassed more than four straight wins to start a season.
If they keep playing the way they have on route to a perfect 6-0 record, there's no telling when the streak will end.
Just kidding. We all know they'll lose to Buffalo on Friday, eh?

1st Period

Jake Allen starts for St. Louis. I recently dropped him in my hockey pool so he's probably going to get a shutout tonight. Sorry!
Anxious moments early in the period as Lehtera and Steen try to jam it by Price.
Wait, how did I make it this far without mentioning SCOTT GOMEZ.
Lars Eller faces the team that drafted him. Now there's a storyline that got old fast.
Desharnais & Weise have been lights out since the new third line was formed.
Andrei Markov prevents a potential one-timer by sliding across the ice.
P.K. Subban gets caught being just a little too cute in the defensive zone. No one to pass to.
Emelin makes a marvelous pass to Backes... sigh.
Is it just me, or is Markov finally improving with age?
Price has had to make a lot of point-blank saves.
Blues ice it late, so Therrien sends out his top line.
They lose the faceoff. But it doesn't matter. Had Pleks.
1-0 Habs and empty net goals aside, Plekanec has been gold.
Markov gets 2 minutes for too many compliments from me.

2nd Period

Hey! Let's spend 10 minutes discussing whether or not the Plek's shot deflected in off of Pacioretty.
It did. Goal goes to Max Pac
Price is unreal. There are no more words to describe his superhuman abilities.
Nice of Gomez to show Price some love after the latter snuffed Tarasenko's shot.
Alex Semin pops his first as a Hab! Chucky with the helper (no surprise there).
2-0!
Steve Ott, seeking to spark his team, drops 'em with Nathan Beaulieu.
BOY is Ott in for a surprise...
Gotta give the W to Beauflow there. Refs stepped in before anyone got hurt.
Food for thought: Habs first line has 11 goals through 6.5 games. Gallagher only has one of those.
You just know Gally will pick up the slack when (if?) his linemates go cold.
Sometimes the Habs 5-on-5 play looks better than their powerplay...
Gilbert gets two for breathing heavily on Ott's back.
Mitchell gets dumped by Reeves shortly after. Scrum ensues.
Blues score. Or DO THEY!?
Looks like the puck hit the rounded part of the glass, referees wave it off.
In case you forgot, that curved glass exists because Chara nearly decapitated Pacioretty.
Fleischmann (I spelled it correctly without cheating and everything!) and Eller nearly make it 3-0 shorthanded.
Been awhile since PK fired one off from the point on the PP.
2-0 after 40. Blues out-shooting Habs 28-23 (it was worse after 20).

3rd Period

Habs 4th line eats up a ton of minutes in the offensive zone. The top three lines appreciate it, no doubt.
Gallagher is relentless. Dissects defensive zone breakouts like few NHLers can.
Helps to have Pacioretty applying pressure with his lanky talent.
Ott, maybe out of fear of becoming irrelevant in the NHL, is one bad decision away from suspension. #TorresInWaiting
Attaboy, homeboy Mitchell - off a Subban shot that caught Smith-Pelly's skates - makes it 3-0 with 8 minutes to play.
Great positioning in front of the net by Smith-Pelly on the goal.
St. Louis begging for a powerplay.
Pacioretty's deceptive shot almost duplicates his first of the year on Bernier.
Five minutes left. That's game, right?
DD & Flash nearly make it 4-0 late in the period.
They draw a penalty for good measure.
Ott ejected. Surprise surprise.
Habs continue to make history with their seventh straight win to open the season. How sweet it is.