A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Jesperi Kotkaniemi shines in preseason debut

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 17: Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (15) and Montreal Canadiens left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrate Montreal Canadiens left wing Charles Hudon (54) goal during the third period of the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on September 17, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 17: Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (15) and Montreal Canadiens left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrate Montreal Canadiens left wing Charles Hudon (54) goal during the third period of the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens on September 17, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next
Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL, QC – SEPTEMBER 17: Montreal Canadiens Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

What Happened?

The first period ended and the second period started, and it was all Montreal. They dominated possession in the middle portion of the game (76.19% CF) and held New Jersey to a single shot while putting up eight (8) of their own.

However, still no goals. That was until the third period when the Habs couldn’t take it anymore. The first came from Mete. Jacob de La Rose’s strong play in the corner led him to fend off two Devils players and get the puck to Michael Chaput. Noticing Mete coming in (which was a pleasant tendency of his during the game) Chaput dished it to the front of the net which Mete buried to open the scoring for the Habs.

Must Read. Can Mete Be THE Guy?. light

That was goal number one. Goal number two was the hockey gods patting Hudon on the back and saying it’ll be different this season. MacKenzie Blackwood, handling the puck from behind the net, dished it off to the right side along the boards. It got past both Lehkonen and the Jersey player, but Hudon stopped it and took a shot from the sharp angle which ended up in the back of the net.

Goal number three was something special. With offensive zone pressure, Jesperi Kotkaniemi takes the hit along the right side boards to work the puck to the point. Despres dishes it over to Rinat Valiev who skates closer to the left circle before sending a beauty cross-ice pass to Kotkaniemi for the one-timer right under the bar. The Bell Centre went nuts.

New Jersey tried to get something started, but it was too late. Game over. Habs win.

Home/Analysis