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In the Habs' Room: Limping Jeff Petry a liability against Bruins – Montreal Gazette

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“There’s a lot of injuries piling up (and) it’s frustrating,” the defenceman said. “But the 20 guys who are in the lineup every night have to compete, show up and play whether it’s our full roster or not.”

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The Canadiens turned in a valiant effort for two periods in Boston on Sunday, but the reality is they didn’t come close to the level they needed to beat the Bruins.

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Goaltender Samuel Montembeault weathered a 20-shot barrage in the second period to give Montreal a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes, but the Bruins scored three goals in the first half of the third period and cruised a to 5-2 victory at TD Garden.

The second period has been a problem for the Canadiens all season and, while each team scored a goal in the second period Sunday, the momentum was clearly on Boston’s side going into the third period.

Defenceman Jeff Petry said Montreal had trouble dealing with the long change in the middle period.

“That second period we were turning pucks over and they were able to throw two or three lines out there against the same line we had going;” Petry said. “We’ve talked about it and we have really have to clean up that part of the game.”

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Petry is not having a good year and that could be because he is playing through injuries, and he is being asked to to play a larger role in the absence of Shea Weber and his partner from last season, Joel Edmundson.

He was a factor as the Bruins scored twice to go ahead 3-2.

He took a penalty for holding David Pastrnak early in the third period and, 49 seconds later, defenceman Charlie McAvoy tied the game with his second goal of the contest.

The Bruins went ahead at 5:58 when Petry attempted to steer a rebound to the corner and it caromed in off Charlie Coyle’s visor.

“That’s something we’re taught when the rebound comes out, don’t throw it up the middle, but to throw it to the corner. But it hit him in the visor and bounces in,” Petry said.

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Montembeault, who stopped 36 of 40 shots, was playing because Jake Allen suffered a concussion Saturday in a 3-2 overtime loss in Detroit. Mike Hoffman also suffered an injury in that game and they joined a list that includes Edmundson, Jonathan Drouin, Cédric Paquette, Mathieu Perreault, Paul Byron and Carey Price.

“There’s a lot of injuries piling up (and) it’s frustrating,” Petry said. “But the 20 guys who are in the lineup every night have to compete, show up and play whether it’s our full roster or not. It’s our responsibility to find it within ourselves.”

One player who has taken advantage of the opportunity to play is Michael Pezzetta. He had an assist Saturday for his first NHL point and scored his first goal Sunday.

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“I’m just trying to build my game,” Pezzetta said. “I think I belong jn this league. I know I can help this team and it’s a matter of doing  it every night.”

On Saturday, the Canadiens salvaged a point when they tied Detroit in the third period before losing in overtime. It was a costly defeat because Allen left the game late in the first period after a collision in the crease with the Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin. Allen was diagnosed with a concussion and will be out indefinitely.

Montembeault was beaten on the first two shots he faced in Allen’s relief, but he settled down and stopped 22 shots before Larkin scored his second goal of the game in OT. Ryan Poehling opened the scoring for Montreal and Chris Wideman tied the game in the third period.  Artturi Lehkonen was lying on the ice along the end boards when he set up Wideman with a blind pass.

phickey@postmedia.com

twitter.com/zababes1

  1. Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry (26) defends Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the second period at TD Garden in Boston on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021.

    McAvoy, Coyle lead Bruins to 5-2 win over Canadiens

  2. Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic makes a save in front of defenceman Marc Staal (18) and Canadiens' Artturi Lehkonen (62) at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Nov.  13, 2021.

    In the Habs’ Room: Montreal now a little thin in net after Jake Allen injured

  3. None

    Looking at how to begin a Canadiens rebuild | HI/O Bonus

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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