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For our new readers and members, Top Six Minutes is a brief overview of the Habs game, and a continuation of the discussion threads usually happens in the comments. We try to keep it light and entertaining. Full recaps are up the morning after every game.
- I ate a fortune cookie before this game. This was my fortune, "Character Is The Cornerstone For Success".
- I swear, I did not make that up.
First Period
- Pacioretty is playing!
- Gonchar isn't playing, Beaulieu isn't benched and Pateryn isn't in the pressbox. What is this brave new world?
- No Halak today but there's an ex-Sabre in net. This definitely does not bode well.
- Weise is on the third line, so I guess that this technically means that Eller's playing with a first liner today.
- What was that penalty on Weise for?
- Uh oh, Mitchell looks hurt.
- And the Habs have a powerplay. On the road. This is going to end well.
- Fun fact: the Habs are 30th in the league when it comes to scoring powerplay goals on the road. Nope, no coaching problems here.
- Still dumping and chasing on the powerplay. Woo hoo!
- Weise just received his second penalty of the game, this time an actual penalty.
- Plekanec sprung Pacioretty on a breakaway on the penalty kill, as is tradition.
- Eller-Galchenyuk-PAP looked pretty good out there. So of course, that line is broken up as soon as humanly possible.
- The Habs subsequently refused to leave their end of the ice.
- Naturally, taking two penalties means a promotion to the first line…if your name happens to be Weise.
- John Tavares split Montreal's defence to take a clear shot on net.
- No matter, we have a Price and he has a poke check.
- It was a great save. It was greater still, to see how pissed off Tavares was over a non-call.
Second Period
- Don Cherry's suit is what nightmares are made of.
- The Habs are leading in blocked shots. Teams tend to lead in categories like that when they don't have the puck very often.
- Sweet, sweet goal by Plekanec, off a great play from Parenteau and Galchenyuk. See Habs? Good things happen when you don't dump the puck.
- And Prust got called for a weak penalty.
- Pacioretty scored a SHG!
- Normally, it's Plekanec who springs Pacioretty on a breakaway when the Habs are trying to kill penalties. Eller just settles for giving Pacioretty point blank shots on net, instead.
- The Habs are back on the powerplay, which is predictably awful.
- But Beaulieu and Subban were out together, so progress?
- Blind robbery by Price on Martin. Just unbelievable. Cue the CAREY CAREY CAREY chant in Nassau.
- Galchenyuk took a shot to the chest from Plekanec.
- Third powerplay of the game for the Habs, hopefully third times the charm.
- Nope, the Habs PP is still pretty bad.
- The Habs have 2-0 lead heading into the third because the Habs be habbing.
Third Period
- An icing by Montreal to start the period.
- Gallagher was buzzing around his natural habitat but Hamonic took exception to that.
- A fourth Montreal powerplay has already led to a shot on net for the Islanders.
- Insanity, thy name is Montreal's powerplay setup.
- Galchenyuk decides to decline the powerplay 30 seconds in, presumably to save Habs fans witnessing yet another putrid PP.
- Weird sequence where sticks were breaking, the puck was bouncing and neither side was able to touch the puck.
- Also weird, not getting oushot to high heaven.
- As soon as I type that, Price went into god mode to keep the Habs afloat.
- Montreal's resident Russian Machine took a bad penalty, in the dying minutes of the third.
- The Islanders have such a scary looking powerplay unit.
- 6-on-4, crud. The Islanders scored too. Double crud.
- Less than a minute to go and the Islanders pull their goalie again.
- Pacioretty can't seem to beat empty nets.
- But Eller certainly can and his goal gives the Habs a 3-1 lead!
- 35 saves for Carey Price and 2 valuable points of the Montreal Canadiens!
EOTP 3 Stars
1. This is so true, it hurts.
2. Now if someone could kindly pass this message to the coach.
3. The definition of a Habs powerplay.