Habs/Coyotes Post-Game December 17th 2013

The Habs earned a victory against a very strong, and defense focused, Phoenix Coyotes squad by a score of 3 to 1. The victory was important given how they flat they came out against the Florida Panthers in front of the home crowd Sunday evening in their losing outing.

Max Pacioretty was ringing the doorbell often as he hit the post three times before finally getting a bounce off the skate of Michael Stone to beat Mike Smith. He also added an empty netter to seal the game and put away the sword as he has done quite often this season.

The Habs came out of the gate flying, Pacioretty was sent in on a breakaway thirty seconds into the game and a series of other opportunities tested Smith early. A penalty by Briere for holding did turn the tempo of the game and gave the Coyotes momentum. Only a few minutes after their powerplay did the Yotes get on the board with a goal by Antoine Vermette.

The Yotes held this pace in the game for the better part of the first two periods. The Canadiens weren't without their chances. Price came up big for the Habs, especially in the first as he faced 15 shots. His performance in the first could easily have given the Coyotes the game much earlier but he made sure the lead didn't grow as the game progressed. He also showcased extremely well in his matchup against another possible Olympic starter for Canada in the other net.

While the first period was a battle for Price the remaining two periods were less demanding as the Canadiens must have gotten an earful from their coaches between the first and second as they suddenly gained back the advantage in the shots category in the next two frames. A big moment in the game came when the Canadiens needed to kill off a Brandon Prust double minor and came away clean against a strong Coyotes power-play.

Mike Smith was also on his game however. He came up with an immense save against Galchenyuk with 30 seconds left in the second to rob him with the glove. A save like that given the habs recent snake-bitten goal scoring would make fans wonder whether or not there would be a goal for the home-side.

Numerous shots off the post and a glaring open cage for Lars Eller all should have been gotten by Smith and onto the score sheet but the Canadiens just couldn't seem to get luck on their side. This did not help ease the tension for the fans who had been left without any reward for their teams hard work on the night.

Fortunately for them the Canadiens managed to capitalize on a couple of their power plays in the third to score a pair of goals against the stingy Coyotes. A blast from Andrei Markov trickled into the net through the pads of Smith who failed to get all of the shot by the Habs blue-liner.

Despite the early setbacks the Canadiens played a hard game against a very strong opponent in the western Pacific conference. On Thursday night the Canadiens take on the mighty St-Louis Blues.

Posted in: alex galchenyuk,andrei markov,brandon prust,carey price,daniel briere,max pacioretty,Mike Smith,montreal canadiens,phoenix coyotes