Barclay Goodrow’s hit on Manny Malholtra 2:25 into the first period saw Manny leave the ice for the dressing room. He returned after evaluation with about 8 minutes left in the first period.
The Habs reacted to the hit on Manny by amping up some hits, with Alexei Emelin laying out Tommy Wingels against the boards, and Dale Weise bumping into Antti Niemi later on the period. The Habs recorded 6 hits before the first five minutes of the period had passed, the Sharks 4. The advent of spring seems to bring out the most competitive in hockey players. Within the first ten minutes player, puck possession was very close with the Habs leading in CF 10-8.
Carey Price held the fort, going after his 40th win of the season. If Carey gets the win tonight, it will be the first time a Habs’ goalie has won 40 in a season since Ken Dryden did it in 1976-77 when the Habs went 60-8-12.
Tomas Plekanec’s goal at 18:46 has the Habs up 1-0 heading into the second period. It was the Habs’ first goal against the Sharks in 210 minutes played. The Habs and Sharks played an even period, splitting CF% with 23 CF each, although the Habs were better at hitting the net, outshooting the Sharks 13-8 (the Habs blocked 8 shots in the first period).
Scoring Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:46 | MTL | Tomas Plekanec (22) Wrist shot – ASST: Alex Galchenyuk (23), Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau(11) | 1 – 0 MTL | |
Penalty Summary
| 1ST PERIOD | ||
|---|---|---|
| 06:08 | SJS | Justin Braun Holding – 2 min against Brendan Gallagher |
| 06:08 | MTL | Brendan Gallagher Embellishment – 2 min against Justin Braun |
Shots
| PERIOD | SJS | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 8 | 13 |
| Total | 8 | 13 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | SJS | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 0/0 | 0/0 |
| Hits | 5 | 13 |
| Faceoff Wins | 11 | 10 |
| Giveaways | 3 | 3 |
| Takeaways | 0 | 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 4 | 8 |
| Penalty Minutes | 2 | 2 |
