Carey Price helped his team reach history once more. The number one net minder for the Montreal Canadiens pulled off a tremendous shutout against the Detroit Red Wings while his teammates knocked in five straight to win 5-0 at Centre Bell Saturday night. It was the tenth consecutive home win for the Habs to start the season in their century long history.
The Red Wings got back to the road with a two game winning streak under their belt. They came into Montreal without the services of Andreas Anthanasiou who injured his knee during the game against Vancouver on Thursday. The open spot once again allowed Montreal native Anthony Mantha to come in from Detroit’s AHL team in Grand Rapids to show his talents in front of friends and family. Mantha has been hot with the Griffins scoring eight goals so far this season. With his momentum joining the ranks of the Red Wings and Howard in net once more, Detroit would hope for a big win against their Original Six rivals.
Before the game got underway, the Montreal Canadiens delivered a tribute to Mr. Hockey Gordie Howe for his legendary skills on the ice as well as his rivalry with the Canadiens greats. The rivalry of the day got going right away with the Canadiens doing work deep in the Detroit zone. They took a 1-0 lead 4:17 into the first period getting hold of the loose puck every time. It ended with Phillip Danualt scoring his fifth of the season on a final slap of the puck that got behind the Red Wings net minder.
It was getting out of hand for Detroit as the action remained in Montreal’s offensive zone. Paul Bryon made it 2-0 with turnover in the neutral zone, stealing the puck from Niklas Kronwall before going in on Howard notching his fifth. Eight minutes went into the books with Detroit having shot just twice on goal.
It became a difficult feat to overcome so early and Detroit pushed through getting more time with the puck. They were battled by the defense of Montreal who wanted more than to switch the momentum back their way and increase the goal margin. They gained a couple more scoring chances during the period that included a last minute game changer. Shea Weber got himself on the board delivering a one timer off the faceoff near Howard for a third unanswered, and his sixth with the Canadiens.
The second period saw Detroit get an important power play to make good use of down three goals. Unfortunately for their power play unit, fighting one in on Price was a feat that was greater than themselves. Montreal used their physical strength to knock down Detroit and their chances during the two-minute stint. A big mistake of two straight penalties allowed Detroit to get a four-minute power play and make something of regaining so much lost ground.
Price made every second of their man advantage a nightmare as the Montreal goaltender made save after save performing smoothly along with the support of his team. Detroit took a number of shots on him but came up short leaving them wondering what could be done to change the pace.
It didn’t go their way as the Habs continued to fire away at Howard where at the midpoint of the game Paul Byron took a shot on the puck where he got the puck into the net with Howard calling interference. The Red Wings goaltender along with head coach Jeff Blashill called for a challenge which they won on the count that Howard froze the puck while being pushed in.
Just when it looked as if the barrage from Montreal had to an end, the team picked up right where they left off and took it back to Detroit. With six minutes left, Alex Galchenyuk got across the blue line where he drove the puck to the net before it went off the skate of Andrew Shaw giving him two on the year. Habs captain Max Pacioretty scored just 90 seconds later on a drive that made a huge 5-0 run. Detroit was far beyond falling off the tracks leaving them completely out of sorts to end the second. Montreal outshot them 15-10 in the twenty-minute stanza with still a third period left to play.
Petr Mrazek came in replace of Howard to start the final 20 minutes despite the massive gap between themselves and the Canadiens. Price remained a force to be reckoned with as the Red Wings spent the majority of time fighting off the defense while throwing everything they had left at the Montreal goaltender. He stopped all eight shots that Detroit brought to the table in the third period ending another successful game on home ice that set a new record for most consecutive wins to start a season.
Price made 25 saves for his tenth straight win that he wouldn’t forget. The Red Wings would let the disappointment seep in just briefly as they prepared to move on with their schedule facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
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