Price exits after 2 periods but Canadiens beat Rangers 5-1

Mike Condon will get the start at the New Jersey Devils, who the Canadiens will host Saturday to begin a stretch of four out of five games at the Bell Centre, and after entering the Rangers game during the second period, Condon said he is always prepared to step up.

Condon finished the game and made 11 saves in the third period to secure the 5-1 win for the Canadiens. He came into training camp this season as the underdog to make the roster but he played well throughout preseason which eventually earned him a spot on the roster.

When star goalie Carey Price exited after two periods with a recurring injury, the Montreal Canadiens responded.

“We’ve got to bring our best game”, said Henrique, who failed to record a point in those three meetings with Montreal last season.

Maybe the Blueshirts (16-4-2, 34 points) wanted to move on quickly from the shellshock of a bad defeat, or maybe they simply have no time to waste to correct bad habits if they wish to rebound against the Boston Bruins (12-8-1, 25 points) in Friday afternoon’s 1 p.m. nationally-televised NBC matinee.

The Rangers are an eye-popping 10-2-1 this season when they are outshot in a game.

Early in the second period, Devante Smith-Pelly banged in a one-timer after a flawless pass from Max Pacioretty set him up in the slot.

On Wednesday night, the Rangers got what they had arguably deserved several times during their run to the top of the NHL when they played poor-to-mediocre hockey and had somebody (usually their goalies) step up and save the day.

The Habs goal scorers stepped up in Price’s absence, and Smith-Pelly scored a attractive goal to make the score 3-1 less than a minute into the third.

The Rangers would pull within one before heading into the second intermission, but the biggest news of the game came when the teams headed back out for the final frame. Much like Price, he’ll more than certainly stop the pucks that he sees.

“As we honour our veterans, we also pray for peace”, said Reverend Blake Eady, the Padre for the Caledonia Legion. “It’s a huge game for us”. His five assists in that span are nothing to scoff at, although his line mate is faring better with 4 goals and 5 assists in his last eight outings. “We’re going to get better, there is no doubt in my mind”. Nash has scored in three straight games. In the second, Girardi mishandled a puck and Smith-Pelly made it 2-0, untouched in front.

NOTES: Canadiens RW Alexander Semin left the game after one shift in the third period with a lower-body injury…. He took the place of D Greg Pateryn….

The lineup stayed the same as it was for Monday’s 3-0 win over the Predators, meaning forward Emerson Etem and defenseman Dylan McIlrath remained the healthy scratches.