MONTREAL - The Canadiens’ patience with Nathan Beaulieu is playing dividends – he is unrecognizable compared to the blueliner he was in October and is drawing praise from his teammates and coach for his recent play.
“This is the best game I have seen him play,” said forward Max Pacioretty after the Habs’ 3-1 win against Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night.
With the absence of veteran Sergei Gonchar and Alexei Emelin wounded, Beaulieu has been thrust into the spotlight and he hasn’t disappointed. On Saturday, he saw 23 minutes of action in a third consecutive game. Skating with great ease, he sent a pass toward Pacioretty with surgical precision with led to the latter’s second goal on the night, in addition to firing two shots at the net and blocking six shots.
“He is such a good skater, he does not realize how good he is. I hope a performance like the one he just gave will make him realize. He was the best skater on the ice,” Pacioretty said.
Beaulieu acknowledged that he feels like the game has slowed down, a sign that he has adapted to the rhythm of the NHL, and scoring a goal Wednesday in Ottawa has removed a huge weight from his shoulders.
“I was asked to play the most difficult minutes. I know that’s the time to raise my level of play. I want to prove to the team that I can be a leading player,” he said.
The coach Michel Therrien said he hopes that the 22-year-old Ontarian, the Canadiens’ first round pick in 2011 (17th overall), continues on this path.
“He plays with more composure than in the early season. He’s a great skater and decision making is getting better. We want to see consistency. A player must be confident to achieve that. And he’s playing with confidence,” Therrien said.
"The difference tonight was all the call-ups," said Pacioretty of Beaulieu, Jarred Tinordi, Greg Pateryn, Christian Thomas and Jacob De La Rose, who were all recently recalled from the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs due to various injuries on Montreal's roster. "They felt comfortable out there tonight. We're battling adversity, and they stepped up."
For all the praise he heaped on others Saturday night, Pacioretty had a decent night himself –scoring twice in the first period en route to the win, which snapped the team’s two-game losing streak.
The Habs came into the game struggling to find the back of the net having scored just two goals in each of their previous four games. It appeared to be a thing of the past when Pacioretty gave the home team a two-goal lead after 13 minutes.
Montreal's 13-shot first period, however, was their most productive offensively. The team turned to its defence and to Carey Price in the second and third periods to hold on to the slim advantage.
The Canadiens (38-16-5) neutralized Columbus' four power plays, forcing the visiting team to take shots from the perimeter, and blocked shots consistently throughout the game. Montreal blocked 30 shots in total, including six each by Beaulieu and Tom Gilbert.
And when Columbus (26-28-3) had quality scoring chances, Price stood tall. The Canadiens goaltender made 31 saves for his 33rd victory of the season. Curtis McElhinney made 21 saves for the Blue Jackets in defeat.
"Tonight was a win where everyone contributed in their own way," said Michel Therrien. "Our start to the game was very good, and that allowed us to win it. After that, we handled our lead well. And we had a couple of breaks, too."
It only took them 13 minutes to jump out to an early 2-0 lead – Pacioretty scored his first on the power play at 2:29 of the first period. The goal was Montreal's second with the man advantage in its last eight games.
The 26-year-old added his second of the game at 13:03 to put the Canadiens up 2-0, one-timing home a feed by rookie defenceman Nathan Beaulieu. Pacioretty has four goals and two assists in his last four games.
Columbus reduced the deficit when Nick Foligno beat Price at 14:05 of the first. That was all the Blue Jackets would get. Tomas Plekanec added an empty-netter shorthanded in the game's final minute.
Montreal, which avoided its first three-game winless run since early December, is 32-3-1 when its opponents score two or fewer goals.The Habs and Blue Jackets meet again on Feb. 26 in Columbus, Ohio.
Notes: Alex Galchenyuk missed a second consecutive game with the flu. Alexei Emelin and Sergei Gonchar are both out with upper-body injuries. Rookies Tinordi and Thomas both dropped the gloves against the Blue Jackets. Tinordi fought Jared Boll in the first period while Thomas fought Matt Calvert in the third.
