Montreal 4 - New York Islanders 1

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The Canadiens jumped to a great start at home in Montreal tonight, controlling the flow of the first period by drawing several penalties, killing several penalties and blasting Islander’s goalie Rick Dipietro with shot after shot. The New York team worked with a bit of luck and a bit of stellar goaltending to keep the Habs off the board and the first period ended at a scoreless tie.

The second period opened on a strange note as the goaltenders were forced to switch ends quickly to play 11 seconds that were mistakenly missed on the official clock during the first. Those 11 seconds were uneventful but the Canadiens jumped to a 1-0 lead only seconds into the official second period as Alex Kovalev capitalized on a giveaway by Mike Comrie and dropped a clean pass to Tomas Plekanec who scored with a nice wrist shot, shorthanded at that. The Islanders were able to tie it up at one before Mark Streit struck on the powerplay on another beautiful pass, this time from Saku Koivu. Alex Kovalev added a goal of his own as he beat Dipietro through the 5-hole to end the period with a 3-1 lead for his Montreal Canadiens.

The Habs opened the third period on the penalty kill as Sergei Kostitsyn spent 1:51 in the box on a tripping penalty he took late in the second period but the Islanders were stumped by the Montreal defense and the solid goaltending of Christobal Huet. The Islanders still failed to control the flow but they did create far more chances in the last 20 minutes then the first 40; Huet continued to come up on the winning end of those shots though. After the Habs began to pour on the pressure Rick Dipietro continued to come up very big but was finally beaten by Mattieu Dandenault to put Montreal up 4-1 with only 2:25 left to play; the 4-1 score held up as the Habs grabbed another two points at home.

GAME NOTES: Despite the mostly good play of the team as a whole, Michael Ryder continued to flounder, giving up the puck nearly every time he fought for it and failing to capitalize on a couple of “sure things”. Being from Nova Scotia with a wife from Newfoundland, I try and give the guy the absolute benefit of the doubt, but it’s nearing playoff time and I personally think it’s time to admit that both the Habs and Ryder himself have nothing to lose in a trade.

February 2 - New York Islanders

Montreal will play host to the New York Islanders as it opens a four-game home stand where they will attempt to continue their winning ways and surpass Ottawa in the Eastern Conference. Oh yeah: it’s going to happen!

Better play at home is key and the Habs will be facing the Senators twice next week; a strong couple of games beforehand will not only add points, but also confidence. The Habs are 2-0 against the Islanders this season, winning 4-1 and 3-1 respectively.

While Huet may have been a little soft against the Caps on Thursday (well, Ovechkin, anyway), he is 10-2-2 in his last 14 starts, posting a 2.38 GAA in that time.

I’m going to predict a big win in this one, somewhere in the realm of 5-1. Bring on the Senators!

Montreal 3 - New York 1

The Habs came into Uniondale having lost its first regulation game in a long while to the Rangers and they were out for blood. Or they should have been.

The first period was pretty low energy from both teams but the Habs held the edge and Thomas Plekanec gave Montreal a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot over the shoulder of DiPietro in the Islanders net. The Islanders were badly outshot in the first period, not managing one shot for the last 15 minutes of the period.

New York came on with a little more strength in the second period but Christobal Huet shut the door when necessary, keeping the game scoreless. Thomas Plekanec netted his second goal of the game while the Islanders were on a powerplay looking to even the score, throwing another wrist shot on a great fake move.

The Islanders continued their mediocre pressure and did finally manage a goal when New York’s Park managed to stuff a rebound past Huet. That’s as far as the Islanders would get though as Alex Kovalev scored a late empty netter to seal the deal for the Habs.

GAME NOTES: Carey Price let in 7 goals on 31 shots in Hamilton on Tuesday, continuing his very shaky run.

January 15 - New York Islanders

The Habs continue their four game road trip as they head to Long Island to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Montreal took a tough loss in Manhattan on Saturday, losing for the first time in regulation in seven games. The Islanders, on the other hand, are coming off of a big win over Ottawa on Sunday, beating the Sens 3-1. The Canadiens defeated the Islanders 4-1 the last time they met.

Paul DiPietro will be starting against Christobal Huet and Montreal will look to secure at least one point in eight of its last nine games.

Montreal 4 - New York Islanders 1

The Game

The Canadiens went into this game with a long history of sub-par play on the Island and the expectation that the Islanders would give them a rough game. Instead Steve Begin put the Habs up by a goal less than a minute into the opening period and things just got better from there.

Chris Higgins came in on a semi-break early in the second and, with the help of a defender’s stick, lofted a light shot over Rick DiPietro - Steve Begin put a beautiful wrist shot over the Islander goalie’s glove only a minute later. Thomas Plekanec managed a power play goal before the end of the second to put Montreal up 4-0.

The third period saw the Habs start shorthanded with a string of penalties following that. The Montreal penalty kill was on its game, but Mike Comrie did manage a goal on Huet after a very nice three-way passing play.

My Thoughts

Before I go hyping up the Canadiens and Huet in particular, it’s important to note that the Islanders simply looked sleepy tonight. Their passes and shots were just a touch off, Rick DiPietro let a soft goal or two in and they didn’t ever manage to take advantage of opportune dumps and odd-man rushes. To their credit, the Habs did capitalize on the New York mistakes, even managing a couple of goals while short-handed in the second period. Friday’s game in Buffalo is sure to be much more testing for Montreal. The first line of Koivu, Ryder and Higgins needs to get going!

What Went Right?

Bad play by the opposing team – ‘nuff said! Huet gets an honorable mention but don’t let the shot totals fool you – the Islanders had very few true scoring chances. A string of penalties in the third period gave the Habs and Huet in particular to really show their stuff, and a shutout would have been well earned. Chris Higgins, despite his goal being less then pretty, should get a shot of confidence and help from second-string players like Steve Begin (two goals tonight!) is always heartening.