Budaj Up to Task; Canadiens 4 Jets 1

The gift that is Marc Bergevin keeps on giving. Michael Ryder got 2 goals and one assist. P.K. Subban is making a strong push for the Norris trophy. Peter Budaj is now 6-1-1, giving up only one goal on 34 shots. The Canadiens were up to task even without Tomas Plekanec. Alex Galchenyuk stepped up big in lieu of Plekanec, having what in my opinion was his best game of the year. He got a goal but only played a surprising 10 minutes. This was not a perfect game for Montreal whatsoever though. Last night’s problem was lack of shots. Tonight the Habs only put up 24, including just 4 in the third. They were lucky that Pavelec didn’t have a good game.

The Good: Galchenyuk scored and won 3 of his 4 faceoffs filling the gap that Plekanec’s injury opened up. Lars Eller also helped out delivering 2 assists and played well defensively. The captain had a (most interesting) goal and one assist in 13:34 of ice time. P.K. Subban keeps motoring along recording his 29th and 30th points of the year adding two more assists. He also had 2 blocked shots in 22:02. Peter Budaj gives Habs fans solace in knowing that if Price needs a rest we have a backup that could probably be a starter for many other teams in the league. Ryder had 3 points and was key in the win while only playing 11:24. The Canadiens had 26 blocked shots including 3 for the new man on the blue line Drewiske. He had a pretty decent game though he finished a -1 in 17:26 of ice time. The powerplay was 2 for 2 and the penalty kill was 3 for 3.

The Bad: Besides for generating an early chance, Halpern had what I would call his first off game as a Hab. He won only 5 of his 13 faceoffs and had a dumb penalty in 15:15. Its my opinion that Blunden is seeing too much ice for what hes doing, nothing.

The Ugly: 4 shots in the 3rd…… Ugh. Needs to get better.

My Three Stars: 1st Ryder, 2nd Eller, 3rd Budaj

Overall, good game. Big turnaround from last night’s performance but definitely room to improve.

*Sorry it’s short tonight but I feel like I have food poisoning or something so I’m not as sharp as usual.

GO HABS GO!

DB