Max Pacioretty spoke out before the game and responded by taking the team on his back and scoring a hat trick in the second period to lead the Canadiens to a 6-2 winning effort against the Wild.
The Wild came in as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. 8-1-1 in their last ten, and the winners of 4 straight. They are living up to the expectations the fans in Minnesota had hoped would come a year ago. Zach Parise and Ryan Sutter are the stand-outs on the roster but would not be in the position they're in without an excellent season from their goaltender Josh Harding who has 12 wins in 17 games. While the Wild have been successful on home ice, they've had trouble on the road only putting together 3 wins on 8 tries, struggles which were evident on this Tuesday evening.
The Canadiens are having trouble scoring goals as stated by Max Pacioretty who spoke to media and said the team should be finding more ways to score instead of being a team that is strong defensively and plays on their heels. He in particular lived up to his comments by scoring three times for the Habs and the team responded by playing with a style that attempting to generate more scoring chances which made for some exciting hockey throughout sixty minutes.
The first period was good for the Canadiens who pressured the Wild offensively. They were on the powerplay near the midway mark when Pacioretty was tripped going towards goal. Not much was generated a man up against a team that is 24th ranked on the PK.
A fight between Brandon Prust and Zenon Kenoptka left Kenoptka bloodied going to the box. Both teams seemed to be in fighting spirits as a lot of face washing was going on between the clubs throughout the first although nothing transpired throughout the remainder of the game.
Harding shocked everyone with a stunning save on Pacioretty when a cross ice pass from Desharnais was redirected towards goal but kept out by Harding's glove with the puck just inches from crossing the line.
Pacioretty, fittingly, was the one to break the deadlock in the second period when he tipped in a pass by Desharnais that got by Harding's glove.
The Wild got on the power-play moments later when Emelin went to the box for a high stick. The Canadiens killed it off, and proceeded to go right on the power-play for themselves. Being unable to score or generate good pressure the first time the Canadiens now had a goal on the board and had strung together some momentum. While there was a sequence that ended with a shot by Pacioretty, who stood-out the most at this point, Harding kept it out and eventually ended the shorthanded threat.
Pacioretty scored the second goal of the game when a gorgeous behind the back assist by David Desharnais, his second assist of the night, landed right on Pacioretty's stick and was able to beat Harding with a stifling wrister glove-side.
From this point on the Wild were playing on their heels, under pressure they took another penalty and this time the Habs made no mistake. A shot by Subban from the point was tipped in by none other than Pacioretty, who recorded the natural hat-trick and his first hat trick since February 9th 2012.
That was the end of the night for Harding who let 23 year old prospect Darcy Kuemper finish the night. The Habs jumped on the chance to test the youngster and got by him when the Michael Bournival went five-hole with a wrap around goal. This goal by Montreal's fourth line could clearly be seen as a team response to the play of Pacioretty that sparked the entire lineup.
The Canadiens came out in the third with the same jump they had in the second. Refusing to let up and allow Minnesota to comeback they played well in front of Price who had was not tested often in the first two periods.
Briere scored a goal from a feed by captain Brian Gionta who found the winger coming down from the left side. The shot beat Kuemper five-hole giving the Canadiens a short-lived 5 goal lead.
The five goal lead, and Price's shut-out bid, ended when Nino Niederrietter scored for the Wild moments after the Briere goal.
The Wild weren't able to bring any more back for them. They took another penalty and on it Galchenyuk took a wrist shot that beat Kuemper glove side.
His goal meant that every line contributed offensively for the Habs. A result that none are more happy about than Michel Therrien who was looking for that spark to his lineup's scoring.
Penalties by both teams in the dying minutes of the third and a Dany Heatley goal with 1 second left were the last bits of action in a game in which the Canadiens emerged victorious.
Having this game under the belt is important for the Canadiens who were hungry to prove they were not simply a strong defensive club. With strong opponents waiting for them on the weekend, the Habs will likely keep the same lines in their match-ups against the Capitals and Penguins on Friday and Saturday nights respectively.
The long lay off is good for the Canadiens since that the players can use practice to keep the chemistry going and will give Price some rest. Expect Budaj to get a start in one of the two games this weekend, he is playing great when called upon and does not cause worry to the Habs faithful when he goes between the pipes.
