Max Pacioretty has been snake-bitten when it comes to breakaways, which is why he was happy be part of a rare 2-on-0 break in the first period of the Canadiens’ 3-1 win over the New York Rangers Saturday night.
The Rangers were on a power play when an errant pass by Chris Mueller landed on Tomas Plekanec’s stick.
“The puck squirted by (Mueller) and I thought he might try to take Pleky out so I got on my horse,” said Pacioretty, who was pleasantly surprised to see that he and Plekanec were alone as they bore down on Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The puck went back and forth between the two until Plekanec found the back of the net.
“A 2-on-0 like that is a little less nervous than a breakaway so I was happy to give it over to Pleky,” Pacioretty said.
When asked whether he could recall being involved in a 2-on-0 break, Pacioretty said: “Not from the far blue line in. We’ve been getting a lot of chances on the penalty kill and we have to keep that up for momentum.
“They tried to make a pass across and I read the play and stepped in,” said Plekanec, who notched his team-leading fifth goal. “I was sure it was going to be a 2-on-1. I don’t know where their second guy was.”
Pacioretty is a relative newcomer to killing penalties, but he’s proving to be a perfect complement for Plekanec, who has a reputation for creating short-handed chances.
“With his speed, he’s going to be dangerous,” Plekanec said. “Obviously, your first job is to keep them from scoring but if that opening’s there, you take it.”
The goal gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead and Pacioretty said it changed the momentum.
“We had some bad penalties but we sucked the momentum out of them by killing the penalties and then scoring the goal,” Pacioretty said. “Killing penalties starts with the goalie and the defence and it was good to help with that goal. We haven’t started games well but we had three days off, we were rested and we were able to get a good start.”
Pacioretty added an insurance goal in the third period after not cashing in on a 2-on-1 break.
“I should have been a little more patient on the 2-0n-1,” said Pacioretty, who received a second chance when Dale Weise chased a loose puck behind the net and found Pacioretty in front of the net with a blind pass.
“I saw him flying off the bench and as soon as it came off his stick, I knew it was on my tape,” Pacioretty said.
The win gave the Canadiens a sweep of their four-game homestand and gives them a 7-1-0 record as they head to Western Canada for three games.
“I thought we played well overall,” said goaltender Carey Price, who made 34 saves to earn the game’s first star.
“He’s playing like one of the top goalies in the league and tonight was no different,” coach Michel Therrien said of Price.
Price leads the NHL with six wins and, after a shaky start, his numbers are looking more respectable with a 2.65 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
“Things are coming together,” Price said. “All those short rebounds are being gobbled up by the D-men so I have to give credit to the guys in front of me.”
But it was Price who shut the door in the third period as he stopped 13 shots, including a breakaway by Marty St. Louis and a rebound attempt by John Moore.
“They used their speed and we were running around a little bit in the third but this was a character-builder type of game,” Price said.
