Rookie defenseman Justin Barron will long remember Tuesday night’s game, even though the Montreal Canadiens lost 6-3 to the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre.
Barron scored his first career NHL goal in just his seventh game on the Bettman circuit, Brendan Gallagher and Cole Caufield also scored for the Canadiens (19-40-11). The Habs, however, could not obtain a second consecutive victory.
Interim head coach Martin St-Louis nevertheless said he was satisfied with the performance of Barron, who does not seem intimidated by the Montreal environment.
“JB is just a hockey player. He’s not intimidated by the NHL. He jumps on the rink and I think he knows the lines will be in the same places, as will the ramps and the size of the rink. He just plays hockey. He’s not scared. I am very satisfied with the small sample (of his game) so far,” said the Quebec coach.
“He (Barron) played a good game. I’m happy that he scored his first goal, and I’m very happy with the work of our young defenders,” repeated St-Louis.
Twice Austin Watson, Tim Stützle, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Colin White blackened the scoresheet for the Senators (26-37-6), who enjoyed a third straight win. Tkachuk and Josh Norris each added two assists.
The Canadiens now have a 2-1 record this season against the Ottawa squad. The last duel between the two teams will take place on April 23.
Jake Allen made his fourth straight start and finished his night at work with 26 saves in front of the Habs goal.
His opponent, Anton Forsberg, stopped 27 shots for the Senators.
The Habs will play their next game against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Gally makes her presence felt
St-Louis had made only one change to its roster. Forward Brendan Gallagher has returned to the game, replacing Tyler Pitlick. The pugnacious forward hadn’t played a game since March 17, against the Dallas Stars.
And ‘Gally’ made his presence felt early in the game. He opened the scoring just 2:31 into the game, after hitting a loose puck into the crease behind Forsberg. It was his sixth goal of the season.
Watson, however, tied the game with less than five minutes left in the first period, unassisted.
After the intermission, the two teams exchanged two goals each.
After Stützle on the power play, Barron demonstrated the extent of his talent by scoring with an accurate shot 31 seconds later.
Tkachuk then made it 3-2 for the Senators with 5:40 to go, but Caufield brought both teams back to square one again by rattling the ropes with a precise wrist shot , on the power play.
Batherson, on the power play 29 seconds into the final third, then White, with 8:30 to play, however sealed the outcome of the game in favor of the Sens. Watson completed in an empty net.
It was also defender Jordan Harris’ first game in a CH uniform in Montreal. And he showed great confidence, despite his lack of NHL experience. Barron, however, appears to have injured his lower body late in the game, following an accidental fall by Senators forward Mathieu Joseph.
Earlier today, the Canadiens announced that Caufield and Nick Suzuki were the winners of the Molson Cup awarded to the club’s best players for the month of March. A presentation honoring them took place before the game against the Senators.
Locker Room Echoes
Brendan Gallagher had a hard time against Senators forward Tim Stützle.
“When I was 10, I had a coach who had a very simple rule: if you stay lying on the ice, you suffer too much to play. You stayed on the bench for at least three appearances. He’s quite a player…but we’ve been playing him for two or three years now, and most of the time he drops on the ice (for a penalty) before returning for the power play. […] If I were his teammate, I would tell him to think about his actions. »
David Savard showed a lot of empathy for his teammate Corey Schueneman, author of a blunder that led to the visitors’ first goal.
” These are things that happen. He must not stop playing his style of play; that’s what makes him good with the puck. It’s not a mistake, or a goal, that has to change his style of play. He has to play the same way, and that’s why he’s still in training right now. I think he quickly forgot about it (his mistake), he played well and that’s all you can ask of a guy like him. »