Montreal Canadiens: The beauty behind the Phillip Danault hat-trick
By Omar L
Phillip Danault put the Montreal Canadiens on his back Saturday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights, and it was a long time coming.
The Montreal Canadiens season has been split into two phases. The first had the team score goals left and right while the second and more recent saw the offence take a step back. And when the lack of scoring began to cost the Habs games, certain players started getting judgemental finger points. One of them being Phillip Danault.
The 25-year-old went into the Vegas game with two goals on the season. Danault did have 17 assists though, most of which coming from Brendan Gallager and Tomas Tatar tallies with five apiece.
He was never known for his offence, but a good deal of optimism fell at the possibility of an offensive turnaround from the centre. Manning the Montreal Canadiens top line along with that three-year contract extension surely could’ve sparked that side of Danault. And yet, there wasn’t much going.
That was until the Habs walked into Vegas.
Danault put up his first career hat-trick during the battle in Nevada. He opened the scoring for the Montreal Canadiens, tied the game at two after Jon Marchessault put the Golden Knights in the lead, and put a pretty bow on the rest with a goal 1:25 minute remaining in the third period to force overtime. What is satisfying about the hatty was how each goal was scored as each expressed Danault’s talents on the offensive side of the puck.
More from A Winning Habit
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
His first of the night was a nice one-timer play between himself and Gallagher. Shots like that aren’t Danault’s forte, but when he takes them, they’re timely placed. This one beat Marc-Andre Fleury over the glove.
Goal number two was right in Danault’s wheelhouse. Jordie Benn has a nice shot from the point that makes it to the net. However, Danault does a good job in winning the battle in front against Deryk Engelland and place himself in the right position to deflect the shot past Fleury.
The third goal of the game was another Danault specialty. The Montreal Canadiens were less than two minutes away from losing and needed something to continue the game into overtime. Max Domi sends a cross-ice pass to the front of the net, and once again, Danault wins a battle.
The pass initially gets right on Danault’s tape, but it initially hits the inside of the right post. The puck bounces back, and Fleury kicks it against the post as well. Danault finds it that time, fighting off Nate Schmidt to jam it into the net to tie the game.
What a way to end things before the Christmas break. That said, we need to keep things in perspective. It wouldn’t be fair to assume Danault is going light the lamp and throw out hat-tricks every other night. However, his last two goals were plays that can happen more often.
Next. Is the defence good enough to make the playoffs?. dark
Perhaps that Vegas game instils more confidence in Danault to take more of those risks and put himself in positions to score. He may not feel that he needs to given the offensively talented players on his wings in Gallagher and Tatar. But getting more scoring from Danault could add even a greater sense of danger to that line.