Habs vs Flames, Dale Weise Trick and Treat

Dale Weise went Trick-or-Treating a night early and chose a (Hat) Trick as he led the Habs to a win over the hapless Flames. Mike Condon and Paul Byron also chipped in with impressive performances.

GAME STATS

• Shots: MTL 31 CGY 32
• PP: MTL 1/3 CGY0/3
• Hits: MTL 14 CGY 21
• FOW: MTL 34 CGY 35
• Giveaways: MTL 8 CGY 7
• Takeaways: MTL 4 CGY 2
• Blocked Shots: MTL CGY
• PIM: MTL 16 CGY 13

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING

The game seemed to be headed into the same direction as they just experienced vs the Oilers. The Habs had led and dominated the first, and were letting the Flames back into the game while allowing way too many shots (on pace for 45 after 1st period). But they really came together to keep the Flames on the perimeter from mid-second period onwards. That allowed Mike Condon to shut it down.

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The one area I’d speak to is that Alexei Emelin was not himself in front of Condon on a few occasions, including one that resulted in the second and game-tying Flames goal. Instead of making sure the player couldn’t handle the puck by being physical, Emelin tried to awkwardly check his stick from too far away. Not something he normally does, so we’ll give him a pass.

Nathan Beaulieu was on display last night, showing off the shot that should have him paired with Jeff Petry instead of Emelin. I can remember watching Emelin struggle to get a decent shot on net on numerous occasions through the start of the season. Having Beaulieu move up to the 2nd pairing makes sense in that he and Petry would maintain the same shift making transitions to and from the PP easier to managed. That and they’d be better positioned to help out the 2nd line offensively and the 3rd pairing would become a shut down pairing.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING

Oct 30, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Dale Weise (22) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Canadiens won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Dale Weise was a beast last night as he took advantage of weak goaltending last night and showed a determination to score that we haven’t seen very often. Paul Byron also provided a surprising amount of scoring with a beautiful cross-crease pass to Devante Smith-Pelly and a short-handed goal. That doesn’t put much pressure on Michel Therrien to bring Alexander Semin back on the ice.

The score may have been lop-sided in this game but in reality about half the goals were goals that a good goaltender wouldn’t have allowed. The Habs still outplayed the Flames offensively speaking, but not by as wide a margin as it would seem.

Mike Condon saved a few wrap-around attempts and made another trio of key saves that allowed the Habs the opportunity to get ahead in this game. You couldn’t ask for any better goaltending from your backup and he’s been stellar all season long, moving to 3-0-0 on the year with a 1.67 GAA and .944 Save%.

POWER PLAYS / PENALTY KILLS

The special teams is where the Habs were able to capitalize against what seemed to be a disorganized Flames team. They managed one PP goal (Weise) and a short-handed goal (Byron) that broke the backs of the Flames and out chanced the Flames during their PPs.

GOALTENDING

Oct 23, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon (39) makes a save against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Condon was outstanding in the first period. He threw himself to get where he had to get, stopped Johnny Hockey on a wrap around with a last second pad slide, and even had the posts on his side as they chased a few pucks away. I hope Dustin Tokarski is comfortable in Newfoundland, because it may be a while before Condon wears out his welcome in Montreal. All-in-all, Condon faced 32 shots in this game and earned himself the second star of the game.

On the flip side, the Flames got some horrific goaltending and obviously have issues at the position this season. They really should have a better backup goaltender than Joni Ortio who has a .893 Save% through 19 GP. With Jonas Hiller dealing with an injury, Bob Hartley better be begging his GM, Brad Treveling, for an improvement there or he can kiss his season good-bye.

OTHER NOTES

The first line wasn’t very effective and the second line continues to be a disaster with Lars Eller spending the majority of the game in Michel Therrien’s doghouse. I don’t know when he’s going to decide that Alex Galchenyuk may be the issue, but he seems to be getting a pass to this point despite being a ghost on the ice for too many of the games played so far this season. The Habs need to figure out a way to get their second line going before it’s too late, because they can’t expect guys like Dale Weise to go trick-and-treating every night.

Paul Byron likely earned himself some more playing time, but I think all Habs fans will agree that Brian Flynn on the second line makes no sense. Look for a possible change between the second and third lines as the Habs look to resolve their one glaring issue to this point in the season.

Overall, this was a good game and allowed the Habs to salvage one win in what has been a painful road trip to the West coast. The Habs head home to take on the impressive Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, so they better be ready to show up with their best game and a well-rested and sharp Carey Price.