Action-Packed Week Ahead With The Habs

Saturday November 15^th was a sensational and electrifying night in the NHL, particularly for Canadian teams, with a whopping 12 games being broadcasted. Five Canadian teams took to the ice in four of those 12 games. Here’s a look at how the Canadian teams performed during the exhilarating night.

On Saturday, the Habs were flying high as they gloriously defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 at Montreal’s Bell Centre for their fifth consecutive win. The Habs successfully kept their victory streak alive, and the six goals came courtesy of Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Dale Weise, David Desharnais, and P.K. Subban (Parenteau and Weise each scored twice). Moreover, the Habs’ trade for veteran defenceman Sergei Gonchar seems to have been the right call, as Gonchar had two assists on Saturday.

Additionally, on Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs went head-to-head with one of their most historical and geographical rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. The game took place at Buffalo’s First Niagara Centre, and was a devastating defeat for the Leafs. The slumping Sabres had entered the game after having lost five games in a row, and yet still managed to defeat the Leafs 6-2. The Leafs failed to get back on track following their defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins on November 14^th, and their lackluster performance against Buffalo is a testament to the improvement that the Leafs so desperately require.

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Jets took on the Predators at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday night. While the Jets scored a perfectly executed goal in which Blake Wheeler and overwhelmed Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne with a brilliant hand wrister at 6:57, it wasn’t enough to beat the Predators, who eventually claimed a 2-1 victory over the Jets.

The Calgary Flames triumphed 4-2 over Ottawa Senators at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday night. While Ottawa’s Clarke MacArthur and Bobby Ryan performed valiantly and scored the two goals for Ottawa, they were no match for the combined poise of Paul Byron, Markus Granlund, Josh Jooris, and Lance Bouma. The Senators’ sloppy performance can mostly be attributed to their inability to produce productive results on six powerplays.

The Habs have an action-packed week ahead! On Tuesday, they’ll welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Bell Centre. Then, on Thursday, they’ll face off against the St. Louis Blues. On Saturday, les Habitants are off to Boston’s Madison Square Garden to have another go at their fearsome archrivals. Finally, on Sunday, they’ll go head-to-head with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Additionally, Toronto’s Air Canada Centre will welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings this upcoming week.

Meanwhile, the Jets will take on the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday and the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

The Calgary Flames will face the Nashville Predators on Thursday November 20^th and the St. Louis Blues on Saturday November 22^nd.

Finally, the Nashville Predators and the St. Louis Blues will travel to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre this week.