HabsWorld.net --
The bad news from Friday’s 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh is the lost itself.
The really bad news, at least potentially, is the loss of Andrei Markov, who
left the game in the first period with a "lower body injury." The PK was
the Achilles Heel for Montreal in this one – after allowing just 1 goal in 7
games vs Washington, they allowed 4 tonight. P.K. Subban, Mike Cammalleri,
and Brian Gionta scored for Montreal, while Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Staal, Kris
Letang, Craig Adams, Alex Goligoski, and Bill Guerin replied for the Pens.
Also to note, Staal left the game in the 2nd with a "lower body injury."
Jaroslav Halak, clearly not on his game for this one, was pulled shortly after
allowing the 5th goal (15 saves on 20 shots), Carey Price played the rest,
stopping the 3 shots he faced.
HW 3 Stars of the Night:
1) Brian Gionta: He had lots of chances but was still quieter than he
had been earlier in the Washington series. That being said, he was a
threat and scored a big goal in the 3rd; unfortunately the team wasn’t able to
garner much momentum from it.
Statline: 1 goal, 1 assist, -1 rating, 2 PIMS, 4 shots (8 attempts –
team high), 1/2 faceoffs, 22:34 TOI (team high)
2) P.K. Subban: If there was one positive from Markov going down, this
was it. The injury forced Jacques Martin to play him a lot more and for
the most part, he didn’t disappoint. Moving forward, this should be a huge
confidence boost for him, especially tallying his first career goal.
Statline: 1 goal, even rating, 3 shots, 1 hit, 1 block, 19:40 TOI
3) Dominic Moore: I like the speed element he brings to the table,
especially when he carries the puck through the neutral zone. In fact, I
wish he’d do that more often. Aside from that, he was merely decent in the
"intangible areas" but the stats don’t tell the story for him.
Statline: 0 points, even rating, 2 shots, 3 hits, 3/8 faceoffs (38%),
16:02 TOI
HM) Scott Gomez: I wasn’t overly impressed with his play, but in a
game where there wasn’t a whole lot of offence, he had a big role in what was
there tonight. Discipline continues to be a concern but at least he’s
showing some feistiness.
Statline: 2 assists, -1 rating, 4 PIMS, 7 shots (team high), 9/17
faceoffs (53%)
Stat of the Night: With the team essentially rolling 3 lines for Games
5-7 vs Washington, it was important to not wear out the top guys so much and let
the role forwards get some burn. For the most part, this was accomplished
tonight as only Glen Metropolit (and the injured Markov) failed to play at least
10 minutes.