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Canadiens vs. Senators Top Six Minutes: Byron’s 3-point performance steals a win for the Habs

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.

Pre-game Thoughts

  • Welcome to Michel Therrien versus Guy Boucher – Part Two. And yes, Guy Boucher continues to look like a Bond villain
  • Montreal’s C-Team is taking on Ottawa’s A-Team. It would be hilarious if the Habs won this game.
  • Bobby Farnham is in the lineup. Please don’t do anything dumb, Farnham!/

First Period

  • Hey Senators fans, remember when you convinced yourself that the Hamburglar was the best thing since sliced bread? Good times…
  • And as I write that, Paul Byron scores 37 seconds in to put the Canadiens on the board. Note to self, reluctantly give Michel Therrien credit for playing his modified fourth line against one of Ottawa’s best and having it pay off less then a minute into the game.
  • There is something about Al Montoya makes me nervous, not quite Ben Scrivens-level nervous but definitely Mike Condon-level nervous.
  • Torrey Mitchell took an accidental stick to his face (courtesy of one Fredrik Claesson) because no good deed goes unpunished.
  • The period comes to a close, the Canadiens have a lead…and Bobby Farnham immediately starts a fight with some no-name Senator right after the buzzer.
  • The best part of the entire sequence might have been watching Karlsson skate right by the fight and not even pretend to help his teammate./

Second Period

  • One Bobby put the Canadiens on the the penalty kill to start the second period and another Bobby took advantage of that to help put the Senators on the board.
  • Nikita Scherbak looks really good out there despite not getting a lot of minutes, as is tradition for any player not hitting their late 20s in Montreal.
  • Not to be outdone, Kyle Turris scored off of Hoffman’s assist to put Ottawa up by one. Damnit Senators, why did you have to be smart and not trade him this offseason when you had the chance?
  • What goes around, comes around. Claeson (he of swinging his stick into Mitchell’s face fame) took and interference penalty to finally put the Habs on the man advantage. Despite not scoring, the Canadiens power play looks much improved on whatever they deluded themselves into thinking was a power play last season.
  • No seriously, the Canadiens were actually moving the puck during the power play, instead of blindly dumping it in all the time. What is this brave new world?
  • Surprise, surprise Chris Neil is trying his best to goad the Canadiens into taking a penalty.
  • Thanks to Thomas Chabot’s well-timed holding penalty (taken with less than a minute left on the clock), the Habs are back on the power play which will carry over to the beginning of the third. /

Third Period

  • Though they did got a couple of good chances on the power play, the Habs couldn’t put one past Hammond to tie this game at two. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to recover from the shock of watching Montreal’s defensemen actually being able to budge from the blue line during the man advantage.
  • The Senators come way too close to making this a 3-1 games, but the goalpost bails Montoya out to keep it a one goal game.
  • Kyle Turris took an interference penalty to put the Canadiens on the power play with less than five minutes left in the period. Unfortunately, the Canadiens used it as an opportunity to practice last year’s power play instead.
  • With only a minute left in the game, the Canadiens pull Montoya to get an extra skater out on the ice…and it works. Brian Flynn scores with just over 30 seconds left in the period to send this game to overtime!/

Overtime

  • Phillip Danault puts Paul Byron’s pass behind the Hamburgular to give the Canadiens the win!
  • Despite assembling a ragtag bunch of new prospects, fourth liners and AHLers, the Canadiens didn’t look out of place against the Senators. Whether this was due to how well the Habs played or how terrible the Sens are in general, you be the judge./

Habs Highlights of the Night

Phillip Danault finds Paul Byron who dishes the puck to Brian Flynn.

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