The Canadian Press
Bill Beacon
MONTREAL—An entertaining pre-game show by the Montreal Canadiens was outdone by a team record, a Carey Price shutout, and a thriller of a hockey game.
Tomas Fleischmann had a goal and an assist, and Price posted a 25-save shutout, as the Canadiens won their home-opener 3-0 over the N.Y. Rangers last night to extend their winning run from the start of the season to a team-record five games.
“It [the record] is rewarding, but I’m more happy about the way the team’s playing,” Max Pacioretty said after his first home game since being named the Canadiens’ 29th captain.
“It’s so fun to roll four lines and see everyone going,” he added.
“There are no egos on this team right now.”
Despite powerhouse Canadiens’ teams that won a record 24 Stanley Cups in their 106-year history, the previous club record for wins to start a season was only four, last accomplished in 1977-78.
To set the new mark, Price displayed the form that won him the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP and the Vezina as top goalie last season.
Henrik Lundqvist, also considered among the best goalies in the world, may have been even better in a losing cause—stopping 29-of-31 shots.
“Hank was awesome tonight,” Price said of Lundqvist. “That was a spectacle. An absolute clinic.
“I really enjoyed watching it. He made a dozen really spectacular saves,” Price added.
Rangers’ coach Alain Vigneault agreed.
“We got schooled tonight,” he remarked. “Our only moment came on a 5-on-3.
“They outplayed us in every aspect of the game,” Vigneault added.
“If it wasn’t for our goalie, it would have been much worse.”
Price has been all-but-unbeatable at home against the Rangers, posting a 9-1-1 record in their last 11 visits with only nine goals allowed.
He got the loudest ovation from the Bell Centre crowd in pre-game introductions, although a close second was the moment when Pacioretty, with a torch held aloft, was introduced as the captain.
Dale Weise and Tomas Plekanec, with an empty-net effort, also scored for the Canadiens (5-0-0), who handed the Rangers (3-2-0) a second-straight defeat.
There was playoff-like speed and intensity in the battle between last season’s two top regular-season clubs.
“It was a high-level match, like a game in April,” noted Montreal coach Michel Therrien.
The Canadiens scored the first goal for the fifth time in as many games 8:46 into the second period as David Desharnais kept a puck in at the blueline and then saw his shot go off Ryan McDonagh.
Fleischmann batted the bouncing puck past Lundqvist on the short side.
The end of the third saw two of the NHL’s top goalies at their finest.
Montreal killed a two-man New York advantage when Price made a brilliant stop short side on Derek Stepan and then thwarted Rick Nash on a short-range blast.
At the other end, Lundqvist snared a bullet from Alex Galchenyuk.
The Swede then kept the Rangers in the game in the third by stopping Brian Flynn on a breakaway and robbing a wide-open Desharnais from close range.
He finally was beaten again at 17:55 when Weise picked out an opening with a shot from the right circle.
Plekanec then put his fourth of the season into an open net.
“Once again the Rangers played very well,” said Price. “That’s an excellent hockey club over there.
“We have a lot of respect for that team and their abilities,” he added. “They probably feel the same about us.
“In the future, I’m sure there’ll be a lot more great hockey games between our teams.”
Elsewhere in the NHL, Pittsburgh blanked Ottawa 2-0, St. Louis doubled Edmonton 4-2, Minnesota nipped Arizona 4-3, and Washington beat Chicago 4-1.
The N.Y. Islanders edged Nashville 4-3, Dallas beat Tampa Bay 5-3, and Florida downed Buffalo 3-2.
