[SBN Canadiens blog - Habs Eyes on the Prize]
If there's one thing the Habs and Penguins have in common it's injuries. Montreal is getting by without the likes of Andrei Markov, Matt D'Agostini, Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez and former Penguin Hal Gill.
Come to think of it, the Pens and Habs may have one more thing in common - they're both finding ways to win. Last night the Habs hosted Columbus at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Entering the third down 3-2, the Canadiens assembled a strong enough attack to produce a three-goal third and ultimately a 5-3 win. Carey Price was solid in net, doing what he had to do to keep the Habs in it for that third period surge. Much to his credit he made saves when they needed to be made, including an incredible stop when Columbus was on the rush, but I'm also pretty sure he gave the crossbar a kiss or two before skating off after the horn sounded. He definitely got a little help in that department.
The two points over Columbus moves Montreal into a five-way tie with the Flyers, Lightning, Rangers and Islanders for the seventh seed in the East. Montreal is 3-1-1 over the last five, all of which found Price in net, and 5-4-1 for the month of November.
A few names you may want to keep your eye on: Marc-Andre Bergeron scored two goals last night against Columbus, bringing his season total to 5g and 4 assists. Team-leading goal scorer Mike Camalleri has 12 on the year and another 9 assists to put his 21-point total second on the team. The number one spot is reserved for Tomas Plekanec's 5g, 19a total.
Will Carey Price get the nod for his second-straight start? Most likely. Unless of course Montreal anticipates another start against the Pens similar to that back in October where Pittsburgh dominated Montreal 6-1 (you may remember it more for Sid's hat trick). In the event Price doesn't lead his team out of the tunnel, back-up netminder Jaroslav Halak and his 5-3 record will.
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