Habs Kill Off 10 Penalties, Hang On For Win

What a mission for the penalty killers last night.

Montreal killed off 10 Minesota powerplays last night, including 2 very lengthy 5-0n-3 opportunities and one a litte shorter in length (9 seconds) en route to posting a 2-1 road victory over the Wild.

Worthy of noting, the Wild entered the contest with the 3rd highest powerplay ranking in the league. That stat took a major hit after the game, dropping from 27.3% to 18.8%.

Minnesota tied its franchise worst with the 10 blown opportunities and heard some rare boos from the usually adoring home crowd.

The Wild were also ranked #1 on the PK coming into the tilt, but the Habs dented that stat as well, scoring on a 5-on-3 courtesy Andrei Markov and going 1-for-5 on the night.

Carey Price was absolutely spectacular, ONCE AGAIN, in goal for the Habs. Price made 28 saves on the night, outdueling his young counterpart Josh Harding.

Markov's goal early in the 2nd was his first of the season and was also the game-winner.

The Habs, who trailed 1-0 on a goal by Brent Burns just over a minute and a half in, tied it at the 4:28 mark of the 1st, as Francis Bouillon released a shot through a screen that had eyes for the net and Harding never saw.

Saku Koivu went head-to-head with brother Mikko, which marked the 1st game since 1987 that two brothers served as captains vs each other in an NHL game. Saku had a great night, and the same can be said of Mikko. Neither brother recorded a point, but Saku did finish at +1 while Mikko finished at even.

The big stat difference was the ice time:

Saku: 15:47 Mikko: 23:30 - A main reason of the difference, all the PP time for Mikko. He logged 9:20 of PP time.

Montreal improved to 7-1-1 and head to Long Island to face Mark Streit and the Islanders Saturday.