Canadiens storm Halak, New York Islanders posted by Canadiens Fan
The Montreal Canadiens, not necessarily known for their quick starts, scored early goals in all three periods of a 6-4 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday night.
“It’s no surprise that we’re not a good starting team,” said Canadiens Dale Weise, whose tap-in goal in the second period equaled his career high in points scored (16), set last season. “For whatever reason that is, we wanted to focus on that tonight.”
Montreal is just (28-13-3) and ranks a meager 29th in the NHL in first-period productivity, ahead of only the Buffalo Sabres, with just 18 goals in 44 games, a slow start indeed.
Dustin Tokarski started in net for the Habs in place of Carey Price, who suffered an upper-body injury against the Colombus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night. Head coach Michel Therrien said there was no immediate timetable for his return. As a response, Joey MacDonald was recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs to fill for Therrien’s absence.
Former Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak started for the New York Islanders for the second straight night and had been 4-0 with just four goals against when facing his old team. On this night, he allowed all six Montreal goals before getting the hook.
“I’m sure he’s frustrated . . . but we didn’t play very well in front of him,” coach Jack Capuano said of his goaltender, recently named to the NHL all-star team as an injury replacement.
While the win is sure to boost the morale of the Canadiens, they are not out of the water yet. Being such a slow starting team isn’t enough to win a Stanley Cup let alone make a significant play off run, where the name of the game is fast starts and holding dominating leads.
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