Sharks 4 Canadiens 2
MONTREAL (AP) — Montreal defenceman Nathan Beaulieu felt like the entire team let down Carey Price.
Price was pulled in the second period after conceding four goals on 18 shots against the San Jose Sharks in Montreal’s 4-2 loss Friday night. It was the first time Price was pulled when healthy since Oct. 13, 2014.
“None of the goals were his fault,” Beaulieu said. “Guys were just not picking up sticks around the net. Tap-ins from the crease are just unacceptable. They just can’t happen.
“It wasn’t Price getting pulled because Price wasn’t good enough. He’s the best player in the world and he’s our best player. It had nothing to do with him. It was us.”
As he walked to the dressing room, Price glared at the bench, presumably at coach Michel Therrien.
“We pulled him to send a message to the players,” Therrien said. “I didn’t like how they were playing in front of him. It made no sense to keep Price in there. I also had to think about tomorrow’s game.
This was the first game of a back-to-back for Montreal. The team travels to Washington to face the Capitals on Saturday. Still looking for 250th NHL win, Price will get the start in that game.
David Schlemko, Patrick Marleau, Timo Meier and Melker Karlsson scored for San Jose, and Martin Jones made 26 saves. The Sharks have won four in a row, starting their four-game trip with shootout victories in Toronto and Ottawa on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
“Good start,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “They’ve been sitting around waiting for us this week. We talked a lot about how we better be prepared for their start. Our guys really got out of the gate.”
Brian Flynn and Jeff Petry scored in the third period for Montreal, and Al Montoya made five saves in relief of Price. The Canadiens are 1-7-1 against San Jose in the past six years.