Post Game 8: Habs do it again

The Montreal Canadiens have another team leaving Bell Centre wondering, “what went wrong?”

For consecutive games, the Habs were able to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win a game in which they never had the lead, 4-3 the final over the Winnipeg Jets Saturday at the Bell Centre.

Nick Suzuki had the winner in the shootout, while Justin Barron, Sean Monahan and Joel Armia scored goals in regulation.

“Really bad start for us in the second period but I like how we responded,” said Suzuki following the game. “We didn’t quit, we’re a team that likes to keep pushing when we’re down and I think we showed a lot of character coming back from down 3-1.”

Pluses:

The Canadiens don’t win this one without some heroics from Jake Allen. If there was a competition to get the bulk of work between the pipes, early on it’s not even close. Allen’s 43-saves earned him third star of the game honours, and it he should be been the first star. He currently leads the NHL in goals saved above expected.
Great to see Kaiden Guhle back in the lineup and he picked up right where he left off. The young blueliner was terrific at both ends of the ice, picking up two assists and leading all Montreal skater’s in ice time.
There’s no way it’s been easy for Armia, being sent down to Laval to start the season and then waiting in limbo for a week after a call up to the big club. It seems like he’s popular with his teammates and there was a little extra on the celebration on the bench when he capitalized off a nice pass from Guhle.
The powerplay got another one! That’s five straight games.
For a second straight game the penalty kill came up huge after a late penalty that carried into overtime.

Minuses:

Juraj Slafkovsky struggled mightily. In fact, it may have been the worst game he’s played in the NHL. When he has the puck, it looks like he’s guessing. The play is going to fast and he’s managing the puck extremely poorly. They don’t want to send him to the AHL but if his play continue to be this bad when Christian Dvorak returns, they won’t have a choice. And let’s be clear, it’s not the end of the world if he gets some big reps and minutes on the farm. It doesn’t mean he’s a bust and it won’t shatter his confidence. Let him develop his game away from the spotlight, like most players who are only 19-years-old get to do.
The start to the second period was comical, two goals allowed in 18-seconds on boneheaded plays with the puck.
Mike Matheson left in the third period and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Good thing it doesn’t appear to be serious, because a long term injury would be devastating.

Montreal heads on the road for their first extended trip of the season. It all begins on Monday night in Las Vegas taking on the Golden Knights at 10pm.

29th Oct 2023 0

Post Game Seven: Habs find a way

The Montreal Canadiens showed their resiliency once again, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime Thursday at the Bell Centre.

“I think we’re a resilient group but if you constantly have to come back from behind it just takes a toll on everybody,” said Montreal Canadiens’ coach Martin St Louis.

Montreal never had a lead and had to overcome 2-0 and 3-1 deficits to force overtime. In the extra frame, a little more Cole Caufield magic was on display when he sniped his second game winner of the week.

“I think that was all Marty, he fired us up and said some things that needed to be said,” said Caufield about the greater urgency showed in the second period. “I love how we responded with the first shift and a goal, it obviously got us going and I thought from there we played a full 45-minutes after that.”

Pluses:

Nick Suzuki scored, finally. It took Montreal’s captain seven games to get his first goal of the year and maybe it will be a spark and more will follow. Suzuki capitalized on an egregious Boone Jenner turnover and made no mistake with time and space to pick his spot. He also picked up two assists in the game.
It might not always be pretty, but it was another two powerplay goals for the Montreal Canadiens. Mike Matheson scored a powerplay goal on a nice fake that froze the four Columbus penalty killers, opening up a shooting lane. And Caufield with a set play, a shot/pass to Monahan who had great positioning in front of the net and tipped the puck in.
Justin Barron had another strong outing logging big minutes. His defensive game is coming along and though he might not play as much when Kaiden Guhle comes back from injury, he’s getting precious reps and experience.
Sam Montembeault made some huge saves, but none bigger than a pair in overtime while killing a penalty. The second save on Zack Werensky looked like a sure goal and robbed Columbus of an extra point in the standings. The balancing act with the three goaltenders will continue to be a big talking point if all three keep playing well.

Minuses:

Terrible start that forced Montreal to chase the game. Last week the issue was how they were finishing games, tonight it’s how they started. They’ll play a full 60-minutes at some point…
Juraj Slafkovksy had his worst game of the season. Couldn’t make a play, couldn’t breakout and was taking too long to make decisions. It’s just one game, but the game seemed to be moving way too fast for him.
Josh Anderson can’t buy a goal while on a breakaway. Twice he was all alone with Elvis Merzlikins and couldn’t finish. Anderson is still searching for his first goal and only has one point on the season. He had a strong game but the production is not there.
It was the worst officiated game of the season. The bad calls went on both sides, Kevin Pollock and Cody Beach… Come on! Be better… Enough with the excuses. It’s a fast game, it’s hard being a referee. Wah, Wah, Wah. Make a mistake or two, fine. But you know you’ve made too many mistakes when it’s a talking point after the game.

The Montreal Canadiens will host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night. Good timing for the Habs, the Jets have won three straight.

27th Oct 2023 0

Post game two: Injury concerns already

Connor Bedard’s first game at the Bell Centre, was rather uneventful.

The Montreal Canadiens spoiled the party beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in the home opener.

It took the rookie phenom until late in the third period to register a second assist on a Tyler Johnson goal that pulled the Hawks to within one. He finished with five shots on goal in 23:02 minutes of ice time.

The Habs played an undiscipline game giving Chicago seven powerplays in the game. The Blackhawk’s game plan was a little too predictable, get Bedard the puck. Credit to Montreal who boosted their penalty kill stats by shutting down the one man show at the other end. It’s something to built on, Montreal had one of the worst penalty kills in the league last year.

Pluses:

Sam Montembeault was solid. Although not as busy as Petr Mrazek at the other end, Montreal’s starting goaltender made 28-saves in the win. More importantly, no softies got by him. Maybe he should have started in the opener…
After scoring in the first game, Jake Evans followed it up by being a key piece on the PK, playing almost six minutes while down a man. He also dominated the faceoff circle winning 11 of 14 draws good for 78.6 per cent.
Sean Monahan had a much better second game of the season, scored a short handed goal and went 87.5 per cent in the dot.
Martin St Louis’ quote on what a healthy Monahan brings to the club: “Consistency, his bad games are not very bad, his bad is good, you know?”
Tanner Pearson scored his first goal as a Montreal Canadien. And it was a beauty, shooting in stride, top shelf on Mrazek.
Rafael Harvey Pinard doesn’t care where you put him or what you ask him to do, he stands out. He won’t be on the fourth line much longer.

Minuses:

Kirby Dach left the game with a lower body injury and didn’t return. His status will be evaluated on Sunday. It’s impossible to know when the injury happened, he was hit into the Blackhawks bench by Jared Tinordi. An injury to Dach would be catastrophic and significantly disrupt Montreal’s lineup. After all the injuries suffered last year, hopefully not the first of many.
The Canadiens play in the third period left something to be desired. Playing a little too comfortable with the lead, they let Chicago make it a game. Back to back games with goals surrendered at 6-on-5 is another unsettling early trend.
Brendan Gallagher had another subpar game, and only ended playing 10-minutes.
The opening night ceremonies. No torch, no light effects and no special appearances?! The Canadiens are known for always doing it right when it comes to pre game festivities. Saturday night lacked imagination and was more fitting for a place like Ottawa.

Next up is the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.

15th Oct 2023 0