Backup Budaj Earns Shutout for Fourth Straight Win

Canadiens outlast Hurricanes scoring three in third to win 3-0 in Montreal
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Captain Kirk was in Montreal Monday night.

Captain Kirk Muller that is -- Head Coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Peter Budaj earns his first shutout as a Canadien and picked up his second win in a row as the Habs beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 in Montreal. AP

I like him. I always have. But I don't care much for his team. And goaltender Cam Ward, I'd take him on my team any day. But he always seems to burn the Habs.

Fortunately, not on this night.

On this night, it was Peter Budaj who had the last laugh, netting the shutout as the Habs outlasted the Hurricanes 3-0 for their fourth straight win.

Enjoy it tonight but tomorrow is another day -- they play the Rangers tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden.

With Brendan Gallagher recovering from the concussion he suffered against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, Ryan White got his chance to re-enter the lineup and prove himself to his coach and team that he is and can be the player they want: someone who brings energy, emotion and momentum to his team from the fourth line. And on this night, he didn't disappoint.

And though he didn't score, rookie sensation Alex Galchenyuk once again proved the difference-maker, stickhandling into Carolina's zone, drawing the defense towards him and somehow managing to get the puck to Brandon Prust who potted his first goal as a Canadien. And it was the game winner on this night, earning the rough and tumble Prust the second star.

But tonight was Budaj's night. Not that he had to stand on his head or anything. But he was there when the Canadiens needed him and that's all a team can ask from their goaltender. He earned the first star and I'm happy for the guy. A lot of fans don't have a lot of confidence in him but as a goalie I know, it's a tough gig coming in when you haven't been playing. He did what he had to do helping his team pick up four big points during Price's bout with the flu. And this will go a long way with his teammates later in the season when he has to take the crease again.

But now what does Therrien do? Go with the hot hand? Err, probably not. If Price is cleared, he'll play on Broadway Tuesday night.

This wasn't a classic hockey game and was reminiscent of the game in Florida last week until Prust scored early in the third. Then Tomas Plekanec took a hard shot which hit high off of Cam Ward's shoulder and bounced in, and the Canadiens were on their way. We could barely get our tweets off about that one when Max Pacioretty finally broke his goose egg by putting a ground ball on net that somehow hopped over Cam Ward's glove hand.

Ward must not have played infield in baseball. Ugly, but I can imagine he was still stinging from Plekanec's shot which caught him up high. Game over.

At least the Habs are improving where they have to. On this night they bested the Hurricanes in the faceoff circle, winning 54% of the draws.

They're not doing it the fancy way either. Nothing wrong with that. Coach Therrien has the squad playing a strong, patient two-way TEAM game where everyone is doing what they need to do to succeed. And they're racking up the wins. Four in a row now. Let's see what they can do against the Rangers Tuesday night.

Start Weak Finish Strong?

Start weak finish strong? A metaphor for the Canadiens' 2011-2012 season?
Perhaps.

But it was exactly just that with last night's 4-3 shootout win in Carolina over the struggling Hurricanes.

Carey Price and his team started slow, fell behind early 2-0 but fought back to tie the game on two separate occasions to eventually win in a shootout.

A few positives from this game:
a) Nice to see the team come back from behind to win, especially in the third period;
b) The team finally won a shootout on Brian Gionta's goal (even if he was -3 on the night);
c) The team won a game when Carey Price didn't have his A-game;
d) Lars Eller scored a short-handed goal in the 2nd period which gave the team some momentum;
e) Scott Gomez injured!?

Travis Moen tips the puck past Cam Ward last night in Raleigh. Canadiens won the game 4-3 in a shootout.

Yes Gomez did not finish the game with a supposed lower-body injury...good or bad my friends!?

Minus Brian Gionta, who really misses the guy? He hasn't been an impact player at all for the Habs, and frankly takes up valuable playing time away from guys like Eller who was slowly coming into his own when Gomez was out previously.

One game out of 15 in Gomez's case is not good enough. We know that. Jacques Martin knows that. Pierre Gauthier must certainly know that. So why is he playing so much??

For the last few seasons the Habs have kind of limped into the playoffs. I wouldn't mind them getting on a roll late in the season for a change. Maybe this will be the year. After passing the quarter mark, the team is out of a playoff position, but only a few points back. So lots can happen.

And what are the positives thus far?

The emergence of Max Pacioretty as a Johnny Leclair type power-forward for the Canadiens.
The acquisition of Erik Cole, who has finally given the team power and speed on the wing and a net presence.
The ever-present, consistent play of Tomas Plekanec, our best all-around player and one of the NHL's most underrated players.
Josh Gorges regaining his previous form after a tough start -- proving he's the real deal and playing himself into a nice contract starting next season.
Travis Moen scoring more goals in 21 games than all of last season, with 7? Now that's a bonus. He must really want to stay with the Habs for next season.
The young defence play of Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz and to a lesser extent Alexei Emelin, showing they can play and be effective on the backend in this league. Now you can add Frederic St. Denis to the mix.

And finally ...

Andrei Markov skating with the team... and set to make his return. Soooooon, we hope.

Phew.

There's plenty of room for improvement, including more consistency from Price; more production from Gionta and Cammelari; more production from the powerplay; and more consistency from Subban.

Tough game in Philly on Friday afternoon. Habs need to put together a winning streak to keep pace with the other teams in their division, especially if the Toronto Kesseleafs keep fluking off wins...

Gonna Lose!? Lose Big!!!

And that's what the Habs have been doing of late... losing big. And the funny thing is, it's not the goalie's fault, as coach Jacques Martin put it after the 6-2 drubbing his team took at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Raleigh. P.K. Subban falls on his derriere last night in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes. Hopefully this isn't a harbinger of their play as they limp towards the playoffs. Photo: AP Costly turnovers and a lack of energy and desperation was what did the Habs in last night. And some solid saves by Cam Ward in the first period especially. To me, the Habs played this game as one they collectively felt they could afford to lose. And guess what? They lost. But it's true, they could afford to lose last night's game, because nothing really changed for the Habs in the standings, due to the Sabres' 1-0 win over the Rangers. So the Habs remain 2 points up on both the Rangers and Sabres (each with a game in hand) and 5 up on the 'Canes. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Canadiens are starting to look like a team running out of gas... I think they've performed admirably considering all the injuries and drama this year, but now the tank looks like it's on E. And this fatigue is more emotional than physical. Max Pacioretty's loss to the team has definitely impacted this team on an emotional level, but unfortunately in a negative way. His lack of speed and scoring touch are missed too; but what happened, the way it happened and all of the hoopla afterwards must have worn this team down. And it shows. Add that to all of the injuries to key players like Markov, Gorges and Spacek -- and we have a struggling team as we near the start of the playoffs. Are the Habs capable of making another magical run in the postseason like last year? Sure why not??? Anything's possible. Would I bet on it?? Uhhhhh... :) Habs next game is in Joisey against the Devils. THE DEVILS!!!! Oh boy. What did I say a few posts before?? It's gonna hurt more before it gets better. Around the league: Shawn Thornton was clipped by a skate blade. Not funny even for this Booins-hater, and was then heckled by the Blackhawks bench. That was a low blow. No need to start playing Bruins hockey and sink to Boston's level Chicago. Stick to your own game and you'll be fine. Crosby cleared for non-contact practice. Although GM Ray Shero kind of indicated we won't see Crosby until training camp -- this could be complete gamesmanship on his part. Wouldn't it be the story of year if he did make it back for the playoffs, only to carry the Pens towards another cup? We'll see about that, but that would make a hekkuva story. Corey Perry paces the Ducks. The Ducks are in playoff position while the Calgary Flames are on their last legs after losing 4-2 to Anaheim. Perry now leads the league in goals with 46. Speaking of the Ducks, here's another tantalizing story possibility. Imagine this: Over the summer, the Coyotes move back to Winnipeg from Phoenix and Teemu Selanne signs a contract with that team. Woudn't that be awesome to see him end his career where it all began, in Winnipeg!!??