Post Game 50: One line team

It’s official.

The Montreal Canadiens are a one line team.

But that line exceled Tuesday night in Washington, beating the Capitals by a score of 5-2.

The team seemed to come together in the first game without Sean Monahan who was traded to the Winnipeg Jets during the bye week. They took advantage of a disheveled looking Capitals team in the first period, jumping out to a 3-0 lead.

Although Washing pushed back in the second and third periods, the deficit was too great to overcome especially with Sam Montembeault once again showing flashes of a potential star goaltender of the future.

Pluses:

Cole Caufield continues getting points. Everyone thinks of the goal scoring prowess when it comes to Caufield, but his passing continues to be underrated. The pass to Nick Suzuki on the opening goal of the game was pure filth.
Nick Suzuki didn’t looked burnt out from having to attend the all-star game. Two goals for Montreal’s captain who will be leaned on even more heavily (if possible) with the subtraction of Monahan.
Juraj Slafkovsky… Nicest two goals of his career. Also, first two goal game for the number one pick of the 2022 NHL entry draft. Games like this will influence people to believe Montreal made the right pick.
Michael Pezzetta goes post and in leading to Charlie Lindgren getting the hook. This game was not on Lindgren, the Capitals were a disaster in front of him.
Sam Montembeautl… Feels like we can just copy and paste his name in the plus category after a win. His back-to-back saves on Dylan Strome and Rasmus Sandin… Pure larceny
Brandon Gignac… Welcome to the NHL, here’s 15-minutes of ice time on the second line. Didn’t look out of place, but many areas to clean up.
David Savard …. BOOM! Most blocked shots again with four, and one of the blocks took a sure goal away from Max Pacioretty.

Minuses:

An absolute fire drill in their own zone at times, especially in the second period.
Tough game for Tanner Pearson who took two penalties and looked sluggish.
On paper, this team is thin. Alex Newhook’s return and Brendan Gallagher’s suspension coming to an end in three games will help, but the Canadiens will go as far as the top line will take them. At some point, it’s going to be too much for them to handle and the losses will pile up. But at least for one night, they took advantage of a team that looks like they are in complete disarray.

Next up for the Canadiens is a home date at the Bell Centre against the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon at 1pm.

7th Feb 2024 0

Post Game 13: He did it again (3)

The Montreal Canadiens snapped their four game losing streak with a near perfect road game, beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime Thursday night.

The lines went into a blender, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield were split up and both seemed to respond to the move. They each had goals and even though they came on the powerplay while on the ice together, their play at 5-on-5 apart was solid.

“I didn’t just like Cole (Caufield) on the powerplay or in overtime, he was good 5-on-5 as well,” said head coach Martin St Louis. “He looked engaged and committed defensively.”

Changes on the blueline as well, Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron were separated, likely in an effort to get a couple other struggling defenseman going, specifically Mike Matheson.

And Cayden Primeau got his second start of the season in his home state of Michigan. With four games this week it was smart to get him some game action.

Pluses:

Great all around team effort and one of the better games start to finish of the season. On a couple of occasions they could have easily let things slip away, but stayed with the game plan. As perfect of a road game as you can play.
Cayden Primeau was solid stopping 27 of 29 shots faced and gave his team a chance to win. Much like in previous games, the goalie needs to play near perfect for them to have a chance at to win. Maybe the JT Compher goal wasn’t great, but was it still a well placed shot.
Mike Matheson, welcome back. Clearly there was an imposter wearing #8, because this looked more like the player we saw to start to year. He contributed a goal and two assists.
Cole Caufield, another overtime winner. How many players are more dangerous to a score a goal in overtime than Montreal’s sniper? The list is a short one (no pun intended).
Nothing on the scoresheet, but a solid showing from Juraj Slafkovksy. Many were pointing at him not getting shifts in the final moments of the game. This had little to do with Slafkovksy performance and more to do with St Louis wanting two players on the ice who can take faceoffs, especially with Suzuki struggling in the circle. Don’t worry, it’s going to be aright.

Minuses:

Another goal taken away from Montreal because of the ability to challenge offsides… I might be on an island by myself on this one but I can’t stand it. Let them call it on the ice and if they get it wrong, too bad!
Josh Anderson might never score again…
Penalties came in bunches, four powerplays given to the Red Wings.

Montreal’s next matchup will be with the rival Boston Bruins on Saturday night back the Bell Centre.

9th Nov 2023 0

Post Game 12: Ticked off Tampa

The Tampa Bay Lightning are always a tough matchup for the Montreal Canadiens. Add in the fact that Tampa Bay blew a 4-1 lead against Toronto the night before playing in Montreal, the outcome Tuesday night at the Bell Centre was predictable.

The Lightning got four first period goals, including one just 22-seconds into the game and beat the Canadiens 5-3 in a game where the final score didn’t tell the whole story… It wasn’t close.

Even with a late third period push by Montreal, the game was over 13-minutes in after Michael Eyssimont scored a terrible goal from behind the goal line on Jake Allen, forcing Montreal to make a goaltender change. Funny enough, Allen was named the Molson Cup winner for October given to the team’s best player.

Although that goal was a bad one to give up, the game was not on Allen. It’s on the team as a collective who didn’t look ready to start the game or match the intensity of the opposition. It doesn’t help that Tampa Bay is more experienced and talented as well.

“We have too many pockets where we let our foot off the gas, miss an assignment, we don’t manage the risk, it’s a combination of many things,” said head coach Martin St Louis after the game. “Teams go through that, you just got to tighten it up.”

Just eight days after St Louis praised his team for playing their best game since his appointment as head coach, they’ve lost three straight in regulation and all to teams who played the night before.

Pluses:

Montreal didn’t quit, even though it would have been easy to mail it in for the third period and look ahead to Thursday night in Detroit. Instead, they pushed and made the Lightning sweat just a little bit. They won the final frame and showed the never say die attitude that has been a constant this season.
Sam Montembeault wasn’t expecting to play but was solid in relief. Named the third star of the game, things probably get out of hand with a lopsided score if he doesn’t come in and make some big saves, especially in the second period. Also made a highlight reel right pad save on Brayden Point
Christian Dvorak scored in just his second game back. The goal was in garbage time, but it’s always good to get that first one out of the way when coming back from a long injury.

Minuses:

The slow starts, particularly on the scoreboard. That’s six straight games where Montreal allows the first goal. “We kind of dug the hole too fast and weren’t able to fill it up so it’s something to learn off of for sure,” said Tanner Pearson.
The struggles continue for Mike Matheson and Jordan Harris. Even though one of the goals was a powerplay marker, the pair managed to be on the ice for all four first period goals. Matheson is logging too many minutes and the workload is affecting his play.
Terrible discipline, best outlined by Arber Xhekaj taking taking two penalties and putting Tampa Bay on the powerplay when Montreal had clear momentum, just because he wanted to settle a score with Tanner Jeannot. “Whatever you do on the ice, the actions you take have them taking care of the team mentality, not necessarily what you want to do at that time; what does the team need you to do at that time,” said St Louis. “I thought we were pretty good at that and to me that slipped away.”
When the goalies don’t steal the game, the Canadiens don’t have a shot to win. Allen wasn’t at his best but at some point the team will have to learn to win without the goalie standing on their head.

Montreal’s next opponent is in Detroit on the road taking on the Red Wings.

8th Nov 2023 0

Post Game 9: Is this for real?

The surprising start to the season continues for the Montreal Canadiens.

They didn’t win Monday night in Las Vegas, but they were the better team, controlled play and deserved better. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights won in a shootout 3-2 but the Habs gave them everything they could handle.

There’s always reluctancy to celebrate morale victories but this game is an exception. The Vegas Golden Knights are the standard and Montreal was right there with them.

Montreal’s locker room was in good spirits post game, and head coach Martin St Louis gave the team high praise.

“Since I got the job this is the best game I’ve seen start to finish,” said St Louis after the game. “Even if you don’t get the result, it’s a game where we raised our standards.”

Pluses:

Nick Suzuki is rolling and the chemistry with Cole Caufield is back. Sorry for suggesting a whole week ago that they should be split up…. It’s going to be interesting to see what they do with the first line when Christian Dvorak returns. Monahan? Newhook? There will be a couple more options at least. Oh, and how about another goal in the shootout? Seriously, is he the best shootout player in the league?
The Canadiens continue to get solid goaltending, Sam Montembeault matched what Jake Allen did a couple nights ago. He was particularly great in overtime with a penalty shot save on Jack Eichel (he stopped him again in the shootout) and a right pad save on Alex Pietrangelo.
Kaiden Guhle looks like a stud top-4 defenseman right now. Looks like the game is coming easy to him.
Sean Monahan won 19 of 23 faceoffs… lol. And he scored shorthanded.

Minuses:

Another tough one for Juraj Slafkovsky. It’s just not happening for him.
Two crossbars for Alex Newhook, he deserved better.
Josh Anderson looked like he was flying, but still hasn’t scored.
Brendan Gallagher getting time with Suzuki and Caufield… No.

The Montreal Canadiens have a couple days off before taking on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

31st 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 Four: Allen key

Things aren’t that bad.

The Montreal Canadiens blew a two goal lead in the third period but got a Cole Caufield overtime winner to beat the Washington Capitals by a score of 3-2 Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

The headlines have recently been dominated by the fact that the Canadiens are the most penalized team in the league and have had issues on special teams. But they’ve picked up points in three of the four games, including two wins. At the end of the season, they don’t ask how, they ask how many…

Pluses:

It was one of Jake Allen’s best games in a long time and he was definitely much better than opening night in Toronto. Montreal’s starting goaltender made 31-saves and was named the first star of the game. They don’t win this one without him. Allen made saves of the highlight variety, including a right toe save on a 2-on-1 robbing Anthony Mantha of what looked like a sure goal and an old school double pad stack after Alex Ovechkin took a fake shot and dished it off to Nicklas Backstrom. He had no chance at stopping either of Dylan Strome’s goals.
Brendan Gallagher scored…!? Even though he’s been one of the least used forwards this season, it probably came as a relief when he got his first of the year. It was a great play by Sean Monahan, stalling long enough and putting the puck at the net as Gallagher came crashing in. It was the most Gallagher goal one could imagine, right on the edge of the crease both puck and player going into the net. His contract will always be an issue but maybe a goal gets the fans off his back for at least a couple of days.
Easily Nick Suzuki’s strongest game of the year. He made a beautiful pass to Monahan on a powerplay goal in the first period (that’s right, the PP got one!) He assisted on Caufield’s OT winner, won almost 70 per cent of his faceoffs and was Montreal’s most used forward. Most importantly, Suzuki was much harder to play against than in the previous three games.
Martin St Louis continues to be a quote machine: “I like my team, I care about my team and I feel like there’s so much good going on, the last two days was just focused on the negative,” said St Louis post game. “I was asked a question (about Suzuki) and the easiest thing for me is not to say anything but I’m honest, I try not to lie.”

Minuses:

For the third time this season Montreal let a third period lead evaporate. While they escaped with wins against both Chicago and Washington following third period meltdowns, the lack of killer instinct demonstrates their inexperience and how early they are in their rebuild.
Penalties, penalties, penalties. They gifted Washington five powerplays and even though that’s a slight improvement from the previous two games, if this was the Washington Capitals of old rather than the old Washington Capitals, the outcome would have been different.

The light schedule comes to a screeching halt this week. After playing four games in the first two weeks of the season, Montreal will play four games in six nights. Next up will be the Buffalo Sabres on the road on Monday night.

22nd Oct 2023 0

Post Game Three: Deja Vu

Nothing went right for the Montreal Canadiens in their 5-2 loss Tuesday night against the Minnesota Wild at the Bell Centre.

The Habs had to completely shake things up because of the injury to Kirby Dach and nothing clicked. Granted, most of the game was played on the penalty kill which disrupted any chance at developing chemistry at 5-on-5.

Rafael-Harvey Pinard got a chance to play on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson went down to the third line with Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher while Alex Newhook centered Juraj Slafkovksy and Tanner Pearson.

None of the combinations worked.

Pluses:

The Canadiens outscored the Minnesota Wild at even strength by a score of 2-0.
Tanner Pearson scored for a second straight game with a beautiful shot upstairs past Marc-Andre Fleury.
Fleury made some old-school saves, including a double pad stack on Johnathan Kovacevic early in the third period. He made 27-saves in the win, was named the first star of the game and got an ovation from the fans that were left in the building in what might be his final game at the Bell Centre.

Minuses:

Montreal allowed two shorthanded goals in 25-seconds. The powerplay is so bad that they’ve now been scored on more while up a man than they’ve scored.
Discipline issues again, after giving the Chicago Blackhawks 7 powerplays on Saturday night, they followed it up by giving 8 to the Minnesota Wild. And many of them were bad decisions, Slafkovksy’s interference penalty 200-feet from his own net or Arber Xhekaj’s roughing penalty on Marcus Johansson well after the siren went to end the second period.
On the same day that Montreal announced that Dach would be out for the remainder of the season, Kaiden Guhle left in the second period with an injury and didn’t return. He has an upper body injury and needs to be evaluated… Great.

Next up for the Montreal Canadiens is the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at home. Washington might have the slowest team in the league, so you’d think the Canadiens don’t take another 13 penalties, but who knows?

18th Oct 2023 0

Canadiens Game Two: The Bedard Show

There’s nothing like the home opener at the Bell Centre.

But tonight’s festivities will be overshadowed by the presence of a generational talent, Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks.

All eyes will be on the future superstar and fans will be left wondering, “what if.”

What if the Canadiens accumulated less points in the standings last season?

What if they managed to win the lottery?

What if he was here in Montreal, rather than Chicago.

It’s a moot point now, but at some point it will cross everyone’s mind.

Bedard is off to a solid start to his career, picking up an assist in his first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and scoring in his second game against the Boston Bruins. So… What will he do for an encore?

“Everyone says it’s a great place to play, it’s pretty electric and there’s passionate fans,” said Bedard after Friday’s practice. “It’s a pretty special first road trip and we’re excited.”

If one thing’s guaranteed, Bedard shines when the spotlight is on.

Lines:

Montreal Canadiens

Forward:

Caufield – Suzuki – Anderson

Newhook – Dach – Slafkovsky

Pearson – Monahan – Gallagher

Harvey-Pinard – Evans – Ylönen

Defence:

Matheson – Savard

Guhle – Kovacevic

Xhekaj – Harris

Montembeault

Allen

Chicago Blackhawks:

Forward:

Raddysh – Bedard – Donato

Johnson – Reichel – Athanasiou

Foligno – Dickinson – Perry

Katchouk – Guttman – Johnson

Defence:

Vlasic – Jones

Korchinski – Murphy

Kaiser – Tinordi

Mrazec – Soderblom

14th Oct 2023 0