Montreal Canadiens Game Reactions: Drouin Sheathes the Sabres

The Montreal Canadiens start their regular season the right way with a 3-2 shootout win against the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night.

Let’s all be honest with ourselves. There were points in the game that triggered some panic. When you stare at the TV screen, you’re hand, and then realize that your hand has made contact with your forehead. Fortunately,most of those feelings were wiped clean as the Montreal Canadiens got their first win of the season.

One thing this game definitely showed was the team’s character. Catch up hockey is losing hockey, but it says something for the team to continue to push forward despite being down. For the Montreal Canadiens to have any success this season, the stars have to shine. Let’s just say it was pretty bright on that ice.

That being said, those things that caused some Habs fans to panic were a little concerning. So much so that the, “It’s the first game”, excuse won’t cut it.

One of the keys to the season that we mentioned earlier was how important it was to have a strong start. Getting this win against Buffalo is a great way to kick that off.

Related Story: Keys to the Regular Season

Thoughts and Observations

The Grease

Have you noticed this weird trend that’s been going on in the NHL lately? A lot of players are scoring hat tricks in their season openers. Wayne Simmonds did it, Connor McDavid did it, and Jason Pominville almost did it.

The proverbial Habs killer scored twice in the game, both from cross ice passes. What makes it worse is that both could’ve been prevented. The entire penalty kill made errors in his first goal. Artturi Lehkonen made a careless drop pass which was picked up by the Sabres. Jordie Benn failed to clear the puck out the defensive zone and Jeff Petry was caught watching the puck a little one Pominville received the pass from Seth Griffith.

You could argue that his second goal looked worse on the team considering he was left completely wide open for the Jack Eichel feed.

Sadly there’s more bad that we need to talk about. Mark Streit and Ales Hemsky. No, just no. The only time Streit looked good was on the power play. That makes sense considering that’s his niche, but he was getting exposed way to often at even strength. The speed just isn’t there anymore.

Hemsky was a single hair length away from redeeming himself for a disappointing game. There was just a lack of effort there which is opposite of what you’d expect from a veteran like him. He almost tied the game up on the wrap around, but he may run the risk of having Torrey Mitchell sub in for him.

The Beauty

Carey Price was Carey Price. He kept the Montreal Canadiens in the game when the Sabres were buzzing looking for the put away goal. Something that was kind of funny was that Price caught on to the “cross ice pass” model Buffalo was continuing to try and blocked a few of the attempts.

The stars of the blue line had to have been Karl Alzner and Victor Mete. Alzner because you didn’t notice him, and Mete because you did. The Habs didn’t sign Alzner to put up points or make a pretty play, but to make sure that the puck doesn’t go in the net.

He literally did that on one of Buffalo’s first period power plays by blocking a shot during the chaos in front of the net. To be honest, the entire Habs penalty kill looked great. Shea Weber and Tomas Plekanec worked really hard to make sure pucks were getting clear. Then we can’t forget Phillip Danault‘s game tying shorthanded goal.

There’s no doubt that Mete belongs in the NHL after this game. His confidence and willingness to make a play is amazing considering his age. You can tell that Julien trusts the 19-year-old considering he played him in overtime.

Those five minutes are when any kind of mistake can cost you the game so the fact that he had no problem playing Mete then speaks to how well he’s grown in a short period of time.

Charles Hudon saw 3-on-3 time after having a great game as well. Hudon was one of the players with the most energy and was always willing to get into those net and puck battles.

The Disgusting 

Jonathan Drouin. Jonathan “All Hands” Drouin was a beast. That top line has proven to be a great experiment by Claude Julien as they’re clicking on all levels.

Brendan Gallagher gets them the puck, like how he stole it in the offensive zone. Drouin makes the pretty play with the puck, like that sweet saucer pass to Max Pacioretty who’s role is to score.

It wasn’t all offence for Drouin. He was also staying true to his center position being just as effective at the other end of the ice.

Watching Drouin get the shootout winner on that filthy backhand off the crossbar was just the perfect ending. He is going to be a central figure on the Montreal Canadiens for a number of years. Sure Pacioretty is the captain, but the Quebec-native is on track going to lead the team in other ways this season.

Next: What the Trades Mean for McCarron

What did you think of the game? Let us know your thoughts down below.