The skinny: The Canadiens-Islanders game Saturday night game was televised live in the Czech Republic and Tomas Plekanec gave his mother and his other fans back home a reason to stay up past 3 a.m. as he scored two goals and added two assists to lead Montreal to a 6-4 victory at the Bell Centre. Plekanec has been on the ice for 10 of the Canadiens’ last 13 goals. Jaroslav Halak suffered his first loss in five starts against his former team while Dustin Tokarski filled in for the hurting Carey Price and improved his record to 5-3-1.
The chase continues: Montreal remains second in the Atlantic Division, three points behind Tampa Bay, which beat Colorado 3-2 in a shootout. Montreal and Detroit, which beat Nashville 5-2, each have 59 points, but the Canadiens have three games in hand on Tampa Bay and one game on Detroit.
Opening gambit: The Canadiens not only scored the first goal, but they did so on the power play as P.K. Subban notched his 10th goal of the season at 1:56 of the first period. Subban took a feed from Andrei Markov and beat Halak with a blast from the top of the faceoff circle. The Canadiens went 2-for-3 with the extra man while the Islanders scored once in three tries.
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![Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher gets out of the way as New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak is scored on by centre Tomas Plekanec, not pictured, during the second-period action at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.]()
Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher gets out of the way as New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak is scored on by centre Tomas Plekanec, not pictured, during the second-period action at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
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![Brendan Gallagher celebrates goal by teammate Tomas Plekanec, not pictured, during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.]()
Brendan Gallagher celebrates goal by teammate Tomas Plekanec, not pictured, during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
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![Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu attempts to block a shot by the New York Islanders as goalie Dustin Tokarsk looks on during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.]()
Defenceman Nathan Beaulieu attempts to block a shot by the New York Islanders as goalie Dustin Tokarsk looks on during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
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![Nathan Beaulieu gets down to stop the wraparound attempt by John Tavares of the New York Islanders Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Bell Centre.]()
Nathan Beaulieu gets down to stop the wraparound attempt by John Tavares of the New York Islanders Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Bell Centre.
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![Montreal Canadiens right wing Brandon Prust exchanges punches with New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens right wing Brandon Prust exchanges punches with New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens skates with the puck while being chased by Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens skates with the puck while being chased by Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Paciorett makes a shot against New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Paciorett makes a shot against New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![New York Islanders left wing Nikolay Kulemin falls after colliding with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Weaver during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.]()
New York Islanders left wing Nikolay Kulemin falls after colliding with Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Weaver during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
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![New York Islanders centre John Tavares makes a shot against Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
New York Islanders centre John Tavares makes a shot against Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens right wing Brandon Prust exchanges punches with New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens right wing Brandon Prust exchanges punches with New York Islanders left wing Matt Martin during the first period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Joey MacDonald of the Montreal Canadiens makes a glove save on the puck during the warm-up period prior to game against the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Joey MacDonald of the Montreal Canadiens makes a glove save on the puck during the warm-up period prior to game against the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens right wing Dale Weise, centre, celebrates his goal with teammates P.K. Subban, left, and Max Pacioretty during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens right wing Dale Weise, centre, celebrates his goal with teammates P.K. Subban, left, and Max Pacioretty during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski falls as he makes a save against New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski falls as he makes a save against New York Islanders right wing Cal Clutterbuck during the second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski makes a save on New York Islanders' Anders Lee during second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski makes a save on New York Islanders' Anders Lee during second period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![The puck goes past Jaroslav Halak of the New York Islanders on a shot by Tomas Plekanec (not pictured) of the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
The puck goes past Jaroslav Halak of the New York Islanders on a shot by Tomas Plekanec (not pictured) of the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski is scored on by New York Islanders centre John Tavares, not pictured, as Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban, top, attempts to knock out the puck during the third period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens goalie Dustin Tokarski is scored on by New York Islanders centre John Tavares, not pictured, as Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban, top, attempts to knock out the puck during the third period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
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![Montreal Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski makes a save on New York Islanders' Brock Nelson as Andrei Markov defends during third period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.]()
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Dustin Tokarski makes a save on New York Islanders' Brock Nelson as Andrei Markov defends during third period at the Bell Centre on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Gallery: Habs vs. Islanders, Jan. 17, 2015
Here are some images from Saturday night's game between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Another quick start: The Canadiens also collected an early goal in the second period. Tomas Plekanec beat John Tavares on the opening faceoff and then ran down a pass and set up Dale Weise on an odd-man rush. Weise’s sixth goal of the season at the 10-second mark gave him 16 points for the season.
And yet another: Alex Galchenyuk, who returned to the wing on a line with David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher, put the Canadiens ahead 4-2 when he scored at the 52-second mark of the third period. It was his 11th goal. Desharnais added an insurance marker at 11:16.
Never say die: The Islanders came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Pittsburgh and they showed their resiliency against the Canadiens as they closed to within one goal twice in the second period. Kyle Okposo, who scored four goals Friday, made it 2-1 with his 14th of the season at 10:52 and Nikolai Kulemin made it 3-2 at 16:19. The Islanders made the final score respectable when Anders Lee scored at 14:50 of the third period and John Tavares was credited with a power-play goal at 17:26. It was Tavares’s 20th of the season.
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Changing it up: P.A. Parenteau was scratched because he wasn’t feeling well at the morning skate and he was replaced in the lineup by Christian Thomas. On defence, Mike Weaver returned after a 14-game absence and replaced Tom Gilbert. Coach Michel Therrien juggled his lines with Weise joining Plekanec and Pacioretty on the top line. David Desharnais was back at centre with Galchenyuk and Gallagher on the wings while Lars Eller was between Thomas and Jiri Sekac.
What’s next: The Canadiens are home to the Nashville Predators Tuesday (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet, RDS, TSN-690) in the final game before the All-Star break.
