Josh Gorges has been a reliable force for Jacques Martin on the
Canadiens' blue line. (AP Photo/David Banks)
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At the end of October, the Canadiens (12-11-1) were in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins (16-8-0), who took care of business with a 6-1 win. Nearly a month later, they’re back at the Igloo but the Pens will see a very different squad on the other side of the ice.
There are the six players who were in the lineup that night not with the team tonight. Five will be watching from their couches as they recover from injury while another is now a member of the Minnesota Wild. They’ve been replaced by four Hamilton Bulldogs call-ups, three of whom are rookies, a waiver pick-up, and a guy who has since returned from injury. The current makeshift roster is a determined bunch that lately hasn’t let deficits and being outshot bring them down.
But mostly, the biggest difference is the confidence brimming from their masked man. Carey Price had mop up duty in the last meeting between the two, coming in relief of Jaroslav Halak in the third. One of the NHL’s stars of the week, he picked up right where he left off on Tuesday night, holding on for the rest of his ‘mates until they kicked it into high gear.
Price, Plekanec as hot as can be
Though generally coaches like to split up the goaltending duties when faced with two games in two nights, it appears Jacques Martin is rolling with the blazing hand in Price. Tonight will be his seventh straight start and the second time in five days he’s gotten the nod on back-to-back nights.
Just as hot as Price is Tomas Plekanec, who extended his point streak with a pair of assists against Columbus. It was his eighth multi-point effort of the season and his third in the last four games. His 24 points tie him with several others for 13th in the NHL, while his 19 assists have him sitting pretty in a tie for sixth place overall. In just 23 games, the Czech pivot has already matched his total helpers from all of last season.
Dependable defencemen
Countryman Roman Hamrlik may not put points up with regularity but he’s been no less key for the Habs as they try and step over the bodies that keep falling before them. At 35, the blue-liner has been playing some of the best hockey of his career in 2009-10.
At the other end of the age scale is Josh Gorges. The 25-year-old has been with the team for just under three years but in that short time has perhaps proven to be the steal of that February 2007 trade that brough him to Montreal. He’s averaging a clip over 21 minutes per night and has become Martin’s apparent go-to guy on the penalty kill, where he leads the team with 3:13 shorthanded minutes.
There could be another new face in the Habs’ lineup tonight. A resurgent Andrei Kostitsyn had double bad luck against the Jackets, first the victim of an unpenalized slash followed by a shot block that hurt his foot. He was reportedly on crutches this morning and apparently will sit this one out.
And just when you thought that black cloud looming over the Canadiens couldn't get any darker comes word that now Sergei Kostitsyn might not be available. According to RDS, the younger Kostitsyn is dealing with a sprained ankle and could also miss the game. He'll try and give it a go during the pre-game warm-up but if he can't go, Martin will be forced to go with just 19 players, one below the allowed limit.
With the injury list growing longer by the hour, look for David Desharnais to make his NHL debut.
Scouting the Penguins
The comeback win against the Blue Jackets certainly was good for the Canadiens’ confidence but they’ll be in much tougher against the Penguins. The defending Cup champs are back home after a three-game road trip that saw them post consecutive wins after being manhandled 6-2 by the Senators in the opener. Pittsburgh has won four (two in overtime) of its last five and heads into the contest on a high, both mentally and literally – they sit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Special teams have been key in that run. They’ve connected at least once on the power play in the last four games, going 4-for-18, while the penalty killers have held the opposition to just two goals on 17 opportunities in the last five outings.
They’ve been fuelled by the returns of defenceman Sergei Gonchar, centre Evgeni Malkin and sparkplug Maxime Talbot. A big-time fan favourite in Pittsburgh, Talbot returned three games ago with his team on the road and will be making his home debut tonight.
While that trio has returned from the Pens’ infirmary, they’re still without several other key members of their roster. Blue-liner Kris Letang, out since Nov. 7 with a shoulder injury, has been cleared for contact in practice but won’t suit up against his hometown team. Neither will forward Tyler Kennedy, who has been practicing with the team but has missed nine games thus far with an undisclosed injury. Other absentees include winger Chris Kunitz and defencemen Alex Goligoski and Jay McKee.
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