Montreal Canadiens: Three Stars vs Vancouver Canucks

Second Star: Artturi Lehkonen

Artturi Lehkonen set the bar pretty high for himself as a rookie, scoring 18 goals and having being one of the few Habs to play well in that 2017 postseason when he scored four points in six games.

Since then, he has mostly left fans wanting a little bit more offence. The Finnish winger brings plenty of value as a defensive player and a penalty killer, but he still hasn’t matched his output from that rookie season yet.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell that last night watching him in the first period. Lehkonen was out killing a penalty, as he is known to do quite well, and he got in on the forecheck. He pressured Vancouver Canucks winger Adam Gaudette enough to cause a turnover, and though it seemed like there wasn’t enough space, he cut from his forehand to backhand at the top of the crease and slid a backhander through Braden Holtby’s legs.

The goal was Lehkonen’s second shorthanded marker of the season and gave the Habs a 2-0 lead in the first period. It was also the team’s 6th shorthanded goal of the season, while they’ve only allowed eight goals while down a man.

Late in the first period, Lehkonen picked off a clearing attempt by the Canucks and quickly moved the puck to linemate Paul Byron. Byron found Jeff Petry wide open in the slot and the defender fired a perfect wrist shot to beat Holtby and restore the Habs two goal lead.