NHL Monday: Toronto puts up seven on Avalanche

Still, it’s not as if we didn’t know Montreal would falter without Price and Gallagher. Maybe not to this extreme, where once all was going right to start the year has suddenly turned around in a twist of fate. However, we knew something like this was coming, as it happens to all teams when they lose two key pieces in their system. The Canadiens will get them back within the next month, with Gallagher the likelier of the two to return before their Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, so it cannot be all doom and gloom forever.

It’s surprising to see the Canadiens as a whole falter, but Price and Gallagher are more integral to this team than many first believed. Will Montreal immediately jump back to its high-flying heights once both players are back in their spots? Hard to say. However, the Canadiens are not as bad as their miserable December has indicated and won’t fall too much further before they turn it around.

Versteeg cut Washington’s two-goal lead in half with one of the nicest goals we will see this season, a between the legs goal that was made possible by his pick up of a loose puck off the boards.

The hit was awarded with a penalty, but the jury is out on whether it was done with malicious intent on Jenner’s part. It’s hard to tell given how Jenner was facing slightly away from Malkin before the hit. Was it reckless? Probably. A dirty play? Hard to tell.

Regardless, Malkin did come back onto the ice after going to the dressing room to be evaluated. He was in some serious pain after the hit, holding his left knee, but apparently suffered no other injury outside of some definite bruising.