Goin’ Streaking; A Retrospect of Montreal’s 11 Game Point Streak

First off I wanted to wait until Montreal’s point streak ended to post this as I did not want to possibly jinx the club somehow. I do not see myself as a superstitious guy but anyone who would read this (or just the title itself) may interpret it as such. Anyways back to the task at hand. So, yes Montreal’s point streak of 11 games has come to an end but is this really a time to worry? As it stand the Habs sit first overall in the Eastern Conference with 32 points. Unfortunately after their 6-3 drubbing at the hands of the New York Islanders my Twitter timeline exploded with countless negative tweets about how this is the beginning of the end or how much Carey Price “sucked”. Just having to soil my eyes with that mindless drivel almost drove me to throw my phone against the wall. Every team who finds themselves on a hot streak usually experiences some sort of humility when it comes to an end. I am sure the Chicago Blackhawks will eventually know what I mean but how soon is now anyway? Now I will admit seeing the streak end to a struggling club like the Isles did and still does not sit well with me but they seem to have our number as of late and sometimes we the fans need to share the same short-term memory that professional athletes do. Hardcore fans such as myself as well as all of us here at AATH know the more you dwell on a bad loss or missed opportunity the more sour you can be towards your own team. Mike Gomez already covered that aspect in one of his most recent pieces so I’ll refrain from repeating the same tune.

Today I want to go through some of the key games/moments that helped Montreal on their way to not only an 11 game point streak but also top seed in the Eastern Conference;

Feb. 9th – The 6-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre will surely go down as the team’s most horrific and embarrassing performances of the entire season. From the first line to between the pipes it did not look any better and for that to happen on home ice was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Habs were 2-2-1 in their last five heading into that game so they were not exactly playing up to par especially when you consider those five games came against divisional rivals. We also will not forget the now infamous “Bite Heard ‘Round The League” with Mikhail Grabovksi allegedly biting Max Paciorety. However this night was the eye-opener that this team needed. Not only did this game motivate the revamped roster but also turned the page for a run that Montreal had not seen in recent memory.

Feb. 14th – Carey Price stopped all 26 shots he faced (13 in the third period) while Rene Bourque played the role of the hero with his overtime winner. This game put the Habs back on a winning streak (their third of the season up until this point).

Feb. 16th – Battle of the backups as Peter Budaj faced Brian Boucher when the Habs overpowered the Philadelphia Flyers with a 4-1 victory at home. Montreal played exceptionally well defensively holding the Flyers to just 19 shots with just two of them coming in the first 20 minutes. We would also see a multi-point effort from four players; Bourque 1G 1A, Gionta 2A, Pacioretty 2A and Gallagher 1G 1A. This game marked the emergence of Peter Budaj as he was well on his way onto a little streak of his own that I will also touch upon.

Feb. 18th – Budaj would get the nod in back to back games as Price was dealing with the flu and turned in a performance that you dream to see from your backup tender. Once again he faced just 19 shots but was stellar each time as he recorded his first shutout since November 6th, 2010. With the support of three third period goals from the “Killer P’s” (Prust, Plekanec and Pacioretty) the Habs matched a season-high four game winning streak.

Feb. 19th – This game marked Montreal’s fourth back to back game of the shortened season and possessed a record of 1-1-1 on the second day. Outshot 25-18 the Habs overcame a second period one-goal deficit to not only win the game by a score of 3-1 but also pushed their winning streak to five games for the first time since 2011. This game also caused Rangers coach John Tortorella and netminder Henrik Lundqvist to label Montreal’s style as “boring”.

Feb. 23rd – The Habs would record their second win over the Rangers in four days with a 3-0 victory that saw the Habs hold the Rangers to just shots and Carey Price record his second blank sheet in his previous four starts. In the second period Montreal drained the Rangers of any hope going into the third period with three second period markers from Cole, Galchenyuk and Eller (PP) with the goals coming at 1:20, 13:36 and 19:34. Now dating back to just last season the Habs are 4-1 versus the Rangers outscoring them 15-6 with 2 SO during that span. Simply stunning.

Feb. 27th – This date marked redemption, retribution, malevolence, revenge or whatever you want to call it. Coming full circle Montreal brought their point streak and strong team-first mentality to the ACC where they dismantled the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 5-2. Powered by 40 shots and led by two goals from Max Pacioretty the Habs made a statement in their play that this was not about revenge but the two points at stake and padded their slim lead on the Eastern Conference.

Mar. 3rd – Road victories can say a lot about a team. Not to mention winning in cities where most find it difficult to play in just sweeten the pot. Now let’s throw in the fact it came against one of Montreal’s most hated rivals the Boston Bruins and you would have to have your smile surgically removed from your face. This victory did not come easy either nor were the Habs expecting it to. Down 3-2 entering the final frame the Habs scored twice in a span of 3:46 while Peter Budaj closed the door on the Bruins earning his third win in a row. Did I mention Montreal had just FOUR shots on goal in the third period?

Mar. 5th – The streak comes to an end after an impressive run of 11 games. What goes up must come down applies to just about everything including professional sports. Losing 6-3 to the Isles was a reminder that although you may face a seemingly weaker opponent they will always possess that element of surprise. This can surely act as a wakeup call to all in Habs Nation that this team is in fact human and mistakes will be made. All except Max Pacioretty of course, although it has yet to be confirmed it is widely believed he is not of the human race but that of a superhuman with special healing powers.

Now I would also like to throw some numbers your way that were accumulated over the point streak. Some of them may have been noticed by the possibility of being overshadowed by other players who continually perform at a higher level;

Peter Budaj – 3-0-0, .954 SV%, 1.33 GAA, 1 SO

Carey Price – 5-0-3, .919 SV%, 2.25 GAA, 2 SO

Max Pacioretty – 8G, 6A, +10

David Desharnais – 4G, 6A, +6

P.K Subban – 2G, 5A, +3

Brendan Gallagher – 2G, 5A, +7

Brian Gionta – 4G, 2A, +2

Lars Eller – 1G, 7A, +4

Alexei Emelin – 1G, 4A, +3

Brandon Prust – 2G, 1A, +5

Josh Gorges – 0G, 3A, +4

Tonight Montreal continues their five-game road trek with a stop in Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the Hurricanes. This is an opportune time for the Habs to start over and attempt to once again distance themselves from the rest of the pack. This team has shown a lot of characteristics that were non-existent last season with one of them being perseverance; Montreal has yet to lose back to back games in regulation. Can this refocused squad rally together once again? I certainly think so.

GO HABS GO