Game of the Night Recap 11/9

[caption id="attachment_250" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Price is not disappointing as the undisputed starter in Montreal this season"][/caption]

The Vancouver Canucks were the latest team to get their winning streak snapped as the Montreal Canadiens shut down Henrik and Daniel en route to a 2-0 victory. Andrei Markov got the scoring underway 6:53 into the first period. Tomas Pleckanec carried the puck into the offensive zone down the left boards and threw it to Brian Gionta in front of the net. Gionta redirected the pass but it was stopped by Roberto Luongo, who couldn't handle the rebound. Markov, who originated the play behind his own net, followed the play all the way up the ice and lifted the loose puck past Luongo. It was Markov's first goal this season in only his fifth game since returning from an injury.

The second period would see no action except for 18 shots (9 each side) and 3 penalties (2-1 MTL in that category). In the thrid, Montreal's abysmal powerplay, now just above the Devils at 7.8%, was responsible for the put away goal 4:39 into the third. Roman Hamrlik was on the receiving end of a very fortunate bounce off the end boards. With time running out on the powerplay it looked as if Montreal was desperate to score and was firing from everywhere. Michael Cammalieri and Jaroslav Spacek were playing catch for a little near the blue line when Cammalieri fired a shot wide but the bounce off the wall came right out to Hamrlik, who ripped a one-timer past Luongo before he even knew what was going on.

Carey Price played outstanding, earning the first star of the game, stopping all 34 shots the Canucks threw his way. His record improved to 8-5-1 on the season as he has his Canadiens in third place in the Eastern Conference and continues to show why the Habs brass felt comfortable getting rid of Halak and handing the starting job to the young netminder. Montreal is back in action on Thursday when they travel to Boston to take on their Original Six rival, (watch out for that one if it doesn't make our Game of the Night honors, Bruins/Habs games are always entertaining.) The Canucks are back in action on Thursday as well when they face the Ottawa Senators in their second of a three game Eastern Canada swing. Make sure to check back tonight for the Game of the Night.