After twenty minutes of play, it seemed that the Senators‘ “C” team was going to get over the Habs near-complete roster. Cory Conacher opened up the score for the sens five minutes into the game. Montreal was sloppy, and were handed many penalties during the first 15 minutes of the game.
Montreal ‘s first goal came near the end of the first, when Danny Briere setup Alex Galchenyuk with a great pass from behind the net. Number 27’s goal came off a great second effort in the offensive zone.
Montreal seemed to pick up its game in the second period, and the team was rewarded with a goal during the final two minutes of play. Tomas Plekanec put a laser top-shelf on Craig Anderson, who didn’t have a chance on the shot. The play came about after a great offensive zone hustle from Plekanec’s linemates Brian Gionta and Rene Bourque. Although it was the line’s first game together so far this year, they seemed to click pretty well for the most part.
The Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – Daniel Brière line was responsible for the game’s last goal. Once again from behind the net, Brière located Pacioretty in the slot for the winger’s fifth of the preseason.
The powerplay was once again lackluster tonight, and it looks as if Michel Therrien will be testing out different combinations to get a spark. Nathan Beaulieu showed good speed and skill, and although there is little doubt to his abilities, his game still needs polishing. For now, P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, and, to some extent, Raphael Diaz are the only real options to quarterback the habs’ powerplay.
In net Carey Price offered a solid performance for a second straight game, which can only be encouraging. Price had the bad habit of allowing some soft goals regularly last year, and so far it looks as if he might have finally overcome this aspect.
Michael Bournival showed speed and intensity, and Marc Bergevin will have a tough time deciding what to do with him. While Jarred Tinordi’s fate seems to reside in the big leagues for now, it will be interesting to see who will be on the habs’ fourth line next Tuesday. Travis Moen showed a little bit more intensity tonight, but he still had trouble keeping up. Once George Parros joins the team and becomes the go-to enforcer, Moen’s value will be pretty hard to determine. The same thing could be said of Ryan White.
But with both Brandon Prust and Douglas Murray injured, maybe the Habs’ final roster decisions will be made more out of necessity than out of choice.
Can’t wait for October 1st !
