ANA@MTL: About Thursday night…

MONTREAL - Here a few key storylines from Thursday night's 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre.

One epic stop
The Canadiens could easily have found themselves down by a goal late in regulation, but goaltender Carey Price wasn't about to let that happen.
With just under two minutes left, Price produced a remarkable two-pad stack save on Ducks sniper Jakob Silfverberg that kept things knotted at two goals apiece.

It really was a thing of beauty, and it certainly made for good conversation following the final buzzer.
"I think it was more of a spur-of-the-moment type of save. I don't do it very often, but when I do, I use both pads," said Price, who made 35 stops to register his 23rd victory of the season. "I was playing off instinct. I just threw them up there and the puck hit me."
Hall of Famers Dominik Hasek and Martin Brodeur would undoubtedly appreciate Price's effort under pressure.
"It's a combo [of both of them], I think," added Price, referencing similar saves both netminders made again and again over the course of their illustrious careers. "I think they were both smoother at it than I am."

Maybe so, but that takes nothing away from just how special - and timely - this particular stop really was.
Price's teammates were in awe of the highlight-reel maneuver.
"Just the moment where it happened, I was on the ice side with a good view of it. That's why he's the best in the world," praised Nick Suzuki, who ranked the save among the best he's witnessed from Price so far this year. "He comes up big in the big moments."

For his part, defenseman Jeff Petry was especially pleased that Silfverberg's shot didn't find the back of the net because he was beaten by Rickard Rakell earlier in the sequence the ultimately led to the scoring opportunity.
Everything worked out for the best, though.
"I gave him a little tap on the pads when he made the save," recounted Petry. "Then right before overtime, I said "Thanks for bailing me out" and he said "Ok, you go and get one now." And I did."

Welcome to the show, kid!
Jake Evans has every reason to feel good about his NHL debut.
After being recalled from the AHL's Laval Rocket on Thursday morning, Evans logged 11:19 of ice time versus Anaheim playing right wing on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Max Domi.

"For the most part, I thought it was pretty good. There were some plays, some shifts that I got caught out of position and maybe would like back, but I thought I played with some confidence," evaluated Evans. "I didn't second guess myself and I had some fun, too."
The 23-year-old forward even had a prime scoring opportunity on his very first shift with the big club, breaking in all alone on Ducks starter John Gibson early in the opening frame.

While Gibson denied Evans, it was still a nice way to get his feet wet in the NHL ranks.
Julien was impressed with his showing against Dallas Eakins' contingent.
"If he was nervous at the start, he should've stayed nervous because he had a breakaway. It was a good sign. He performed well," said Julien. "For a guy who doesn't play wing that often, I thought he did well along the walls against a big team. He skated well. He showed some good qualities without the puck and handled the responsibilities that come with that. It would've been nice to see him score on his first shift, but I liked his game. He showed some good things."

Suzuki = Sensational
Suzuki scored his 11th goal of the season on Thursday night, netting a power play goal late in the opening stanza.

The 20-year-old centerman is producing in a big way, registering seven points (2g - 5a) in his last six games.
"As of late, I've been feeling good. I know the start of the season wasn't my best, but I'm just trying to learn each day and come back every game learning," explained Suzuki, on the reasons behind his incredible success. "That's what I'm trying to do every day."

Julien can't say enough good things about the young rookie, who is delivering the goods night after night.
"Even though it's his first year in the NHL, he already has a lot of experience. He played in the World Juniors, he played in the Memorial Cup, he played a lot of big, pressure-packed games. That's his personality. The experience he has helped him get over the hump this year," said Julien. "I'm very happy with his evolution and and the direction he's headed. They're all encouraging signs. We saw him start the overtime tonight. Why? Because he was having a good game and you feel confident about him in those situations."
That's quite the endorsement right there.