Ann 2Game 37 Review: Devils Crush Listless Canadiens 4-1 (Highlights Video Included)
January 4th 2009 18:29
A less-than-stellar performance by goaltender Jaroslav Halak has led the Montreal Canadiens to their most humiliating defeat in two months at the hands of the New Jersey Devils.
With injuries piling up in the Canadiens infirmary – Carey Price, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Christopher Higgins and Mathieu Dandenault were all out for Friday night's game, Price being day-to-day while the others are sidelined for longer terms – four players were recalled from the Bulldogs: goaltender Marc Denis, defenseman Yannick Weber, center Kyle Chipchura (Ryan O'Byrne and Ben Maxwell were both sent down during the holiday), and winger Max Pacioretty. Apart from Weber, all players took part in the game against the Devils with Chipchura getting an assist on Pacioretty's first NHL goal, the only Canadiens goal that night.
As I pointed out earlier, much of the blame for Montreal's loss can be attributed to Jaroslav Halak who surrendered two weak goals in the first period – both were positional errors - to the Devils even though the Habs had started the game relatively well. At the other end, Scott Clemmensen inspired his teammates, stopping almost everything he saw (33 out of 34 shots); it probably could have been different had the Canadiens been hungrier on the rebounds. Speaking of hunger, as soon as the Devils scored their third goal halfway through the second period, the visitors seemed to have simply given up. After great showings before the New Year, Plekanec has returned to his invisible ways. The Kostitsyn brothers have lost their edge (Andrei was partially responsible for the Devils' third), and D'Agostini has fallen back to earth after a fiery start. Kovalev was the only one trying to do something, unfortunately his teammates didn't follow except for the Lapierre line who continued their hard work. Marc Denis came in to replace Halak in the third period, but the veteran was just as shaky, requiring the help of his defensemen to bail him out.
There's not much else to say about the game. The Canadiens were simply demoralized after the two goals in the first period, and at 4-1, it was just a matter of waiting for the clock to run out really.
My 3 Stars:
3. Zach Parise
2. Jamie Langenbrunner
1. Scott Clemmensen
With injuries piling up in the Canadiens infirmary – Carey Price, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Christopher Higgins and Mathieu Dandenault were all out for Friday night's game, Price being day-to-day while the others are sidelined for longer terms – four players were recalled from the Bulldogs: goaltender Marc Denis, defenseman Yannick Weber, center Kyle Chipchura (Ryan O'Byrne and Ben Maxwell were both sent down during the holiday), and winger Max Pacioretty. Apart from Weber, all players took part in the game against the Devils with Chipchura getting an assist on Pacioretty's first NHL goal, the only Canadiens goal that night.
As I pointed out earlier, much of the blame for Montreal's loss can be attributed to Jaroslav Halak who surrendered two weak goals in the first period – both were positional errors - to the Devils even though the Habs had started the game relatively well. At the other end, Scott Clemmensen inspired his teammates, stopping almost everything he saw (33 out of 34 shots); it probably could have been different had the Canadiens been hungrier on the rebounds. Speaking of hunger, as soon as the Devils scored their third goal halfway through the second period, the visitors seemed to have simply given up. After great showings before the New Year, Plekanec has returned to his invisible ways. The Kostitsyn brothers have lost their edge (Andrei was partially responsible for the Devils' third), and D'Agostini has fallen back to earth after a fiery start. Kovalev was the only one trying to do something, unfortunately his teammates didn't follow except for the Lapierre line who continued their hard work. Marc Denis came in to replace Halak in the third period, but the veteran was just as shaky, requiring the help of his defensemen to bail him out.
There's not much else to say about the game. The Canadiens were simply demoralized after the two goals in the first period, and at 4-1, it was just a matter of waiting for the clock to run out really.
My 3 Stars:
3. Zach Parise
2. Jamie Langenbrunner
1. Scott Clemmensen
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