MONTREAL - The Canadiens are in last place in the Eastern Conference and their chances of making the playoffs have been reduced to a slimmest of mathematical possibilities.
But that doesn't mean that they have forgotten how to have fun.
The fun-loving side of the Canadiens was evident in two incidents involving key figures in Weednesday night's 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators.
It started with Erik Cole after he scored the first goal of the game. As he skated behind the Ottawa goal, he found himself on a direct path with referee Greg Kimmerly and he offered the official a high-five.
"I wanted to celebrate with somebody and he was the only one around," Cole explained.
"That was hilarious but I wasn't laughing for long because they scored right after," said goaltender Carey Price. "You can't suspend a guy for that; it was pure comedy."
Cole wasn't as jovial as regulation time ended. He was involved in a scrum in the corner and caught a stick in the throat. He was on the ice for a couple of minutes as athletic therapist Graham Rynbend checked him out, but he returned for the overtime.
"I just got the wind knocked out of me," said Cole, who was surprised that there was no penalty called on the play.
Price, who was perfect in the shootout, surprised Ottawa's first shooter, Milan Michalek, by poke-checking the puck off the shooter's stick. That was a no-no back in the day when Rollie Melanson was the Canadiens' goaltender coach.
"Rollie wouldn't have liked that but I was just messing around and having fun," said Price. "I'm not going to make a habit of it but I'll do it every once in a while to keep guys off balance."
Price also stopped Jason Spezza and sealed the win by stopping Daniel Alfredsson, who was 5-for-5 in shootouts this season.
Price faced 37 shots in regulation but said his defence did a good job of keeping the play to the outside. He said that he wanted another look at Erik Karlsson's third period goal which tied the score at 2-2.
"I was tracking it all the way and I didn't squeeze hard enough," he said.
The defensive effort included a strong performance by Frédéric St. Denis, who was recalled from Hamilton earlier in the day, and Andrei Markov, who continues his comeback from knee surgery.
St. Denis played 17:23 and wasn't on the ice for either Ottawa goal, and the coaching staff had enough confidence to send him out late in the overtime period.
Markov gave everyone a scare when he blocked a shot by Jim O'Brien late in the second period. The puck hit his stick and caromed up into his face.
"It's not the first time I've been hit in the face," said Markov, who showed his soccer skills as he kicked his helmet while leaving the ice.
"He played almost 18 minutes tonight after playing 16 the first two games, and he's making progress," said coach Randy Cunneyworth. "I don't know how much more he'll get but we're happy with the way he's playing."
The winning goal was provided by David Desharnais, who scored in regulation.
"That's my move," said Desharnais, who faked the forehand, drew Ben Bishop out of his crease and then slipped the backhander through the goaltender's pads. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
Desharnais scored his 16th goal of the season when he deflected P.K. Subban's shot from the point to give Montreal a 2-1 lead early in the third period.
Said Desharnais: "Max (Pacioretty) did a great job of digging the puck out and getting it out to P.K. I was just hiding in the corner and then I went to the net."
The line of Desharnais, Cole and Pacioretty continue to supply most of the offence but Cunneyworth said he was pleased with the way all four lines contributed to the win.
"We were able to get the matchups we wanted for most of the night and we did a good job defensively," he said.
phickey@montrealgazette.com
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