Excerpt from 'Rocket Hockey Report' of host Amy Johnson commenting on the buzz created by the arrival of defenseman David Reinbacher. GAME RECAP | MONTREAL CANADIENS 2 VS COLORADO AVALANCHE 1 | FINAL CANADIENS LINEUP Forwards 22 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky 11 Brendan Gallagher - 15 Alex Newhook - 40 Joel Armia 17 Josh Anderson - 71 Jake Evans - 56 Jesse Ylonen 55 Michael Pezzetta - 36 Colin White - 49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard Defensemen 8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle 72 Arber Xhekaj - 58 David Savard 47 Jayden Struble - 54 Jordan Harris Goaltenders Starter: 35 Sam Montembeault Alternate: 30 Cayden Primeau Out of the lineup Scratches: Jesse Ylonen, Jayden Struble Injuries: Carey Price (knee), Chris Wideman (back), Kirby Dach (knee), Christian Dvorak (upper body), Joshua Roy (hand) ROCKET HOCKEY REPORT [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrG0V2gmfF8[/embed] It's been almost 10 years since the Canadiens recorded a win in Denver. Tonight, Montreal got their scoring done in the first period and hung on for a win. It didn't start well for the visitors. Nathan MacKinnon potted his 45th goal of the season just 43 seconds into the contest. But just nine seconds later Nick Suzuki tied the game fooling Colorado goaltender Justus Annunen. With just over five minutes left in the opening frame, Joel Armia broke the tie scoring on a wrap-around. And that's all of the offense the Canadiens would need on this evening. The Canadiens defended well the rest of the way, and took advantage of lax defensive coverage of the Avs to keep Colorado occupied in their own zone. Montreal was helped by a four minute power play to end the game when Sean Walker was tagged for high-sticking Brendan Gallagher. Suzuki set a new career record with his 67th point. With an assist on the captain's goal, Juraj Slafkovsky registered his 40th point of the season. Sam Montembeault made 27 saves to end a six-game personal losing streak. The Avalanche honored Alex Newhook with a tribute video during a stoppage of play. GAME STATISTICS Canadiens (27-32-12) Shots: 27 Face-off %: 54.4 Power play: 0/3 Penalty minutes: 6 Hits: 18 Blocks: 20 Avalanche (46-21-5) Shots: 28 Face-off %: 45.6 Power play: 0/3 Penalty minutes: 6 Hits: 12 Blocks: 12 SCORING SUMMARY Canadiens Scorers 1st period: Suzuki (29), Armia (12) 2nd period: -- 3rd period: -- OT: -- SO: -- Avalanche Scorers 1st period: MacKinnon (45) 2nd period: -- 3rd period: -- OT: -- SO: -- Goaltenders MTL: Montembeault (W) 14-13-7 COL: Annunen (L) 5-3-1 CANADIENS PLAYER OF THE GAME Joel Armia - Armia scored the game-winner and led the Canadiens with six shots on goal. Armia and Jake Evans logged the most penalty-killing minutes keeping the Avs off the scoreboard via the power play. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdH17eGvGZw[/embed] POST-GAME QUOTES Nick Suzuki "We played for [Marty St. Louis.] He's been through a lot over the last 10 days, and he was excited to come back. It's obviously great to have him back. We missed him. We were trying to do the job while he was away, and [he] definitely gave us a bit of energy coming back." Alex Newhook “I think it's a good testament to our character in this room. To go down early like that sucks. But I thought we did a good job to answer." UP NEXT The Canadiens return home to begin a five-game homestand beginning on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal [https://thn.com/montreal] for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world. The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue! [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk3MTk4Mzc0MTE4Nzc2/hockeynewsad.jpg] The Hockey News: Pick A Free Issue!
