Montreal Canadiens: Three Stars vs Winnipeg Jets

Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets games have been a little unpredictable so far this season.

We have seen just about every result in the past couple weeks between these two teams. There were two overtime games, which were both won by the Jets. There was a 2-0 Habs lead blown in a 6-3 Jets win and there was a completely dominant 7-1 victory by the Canadiens.

So, in their past four meetings, the Canadiens outscored the jets 14-13 but lost three of four games.

So, it was difficult to predict what kind of game we would see last night. It looked like it was going to go in the Jets favour early on as they had some sustained pressure on the first few shifts but the game remained scoreless.

The Canadiens newly formed first line started the scoring when Josh Anderson dove to knock a loose puck to Jonathan Drouin who made a crisp pass to Jesperi Kotkaniemi at the top of the crease and the young centre redirected it home to open the scoring four minutes in.

The score would stay 1-0 into the first intermission as Carey Price turned aside all 13 shots he faced in the opening frame.

The Canadiens were better in the second period, with Jonathan Drouin drawing a penalty as he was hooked on a breakaway. The ensuing power play saw Josh Anderson extend the team’s lead to 2-0 when he knocked in a loose puck from a tough angle.

The Jets pulled within one on a power play of their own. Kyle Connor fooled Carey Price with a quick shot through the five hole as Blake Wheeler provided a screen at the top of the crease.

Brendan Gallagher would be turned aside on a penalty shot as the Canadiens continued to pour on the pressure. It finally paid off in the final minute as Tyler Toffoli picked off a Neal Pionk clearing attempt and walked in on a 3 on 1 with Gallagher and Nick Suzuki. Toffoli kept the puck all the way and deked to his forehand before increasing the Habs lead to 3-1.

The third period saw Connor score again on a blast with the man advantage to make it a 3-2 game. Price made several key saves to keep it that way until Toffoli scored his second of the night into an empty net to close out the win.

Tyler Toffoli

Tyler Toffoli has been excellent for the Canadiens and is proving to be one of the biggest bargains in the league right now. He signed a four year contract with a $4.25 million cap hit in the offseason, but would be getting much more if he were able to somehow hit the open market again tomorrow.

He plays a very smart, reliable, defensive game that can shutdown the best players in the league, but he is also scoring goals like the best players in the league.

Toffoli had an assist on the Habs second goal, as he knocked the puck loose in the goal mouth scramble. Anderson would put it in the net a second later to give the Habs a 2-0 lead early in the second period.

Kyle Connor scored to make it 2-1 but Toffoli would extend the Habs lead to two once again before the final buzzer. He picked off a Neal Pionk clearing attempt in mid-air and then walked in on a 3 on 1 with Suzuki and Gallagher. Toffoli elected to keep the puck and it was a wise decision as he deftly stickhandle around Hellebuyck and had a wide open net as the outstretched Jets goaltender desperately trues to make a save.

Hellebuyck couldn’t stop it, and Toffoli had his 16th goal of the season. Toffoli would seal the deal in the final minute with an empty net goal that gave the Canadiens a 4-2 lead. It was his 17th goal of the season and tied him with Connor McDavid for the second most goals in the NHL.

Josh Anderson

Montreal Canadiens winger Josh Anderson entered this season under heavy scrutiny from the Habs fan base. He had been acquired for Max Domi and signed to a huge contract extension after scoring just one goal in 27 games last season. He was going to be under the microscope for sure.

Then he went out and scored twice in the very first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has been a fan favourite ever since.

However, after a terrific start to the season he was in a bit of a slump heading into last night’s game. After scoring 11 points in his first 13 games in a Canadiens sweater, he had just one goal and three points in his previous 11 games.

Last night, Anderson was at his best again. He made a terrific play on the Habs first goal, diving and stretching out to knock a loose puck away from a Jets defender and onto the stick of Jonathan Drouin. The next pass was to Jesperi Kotkaniemi in front and he tapped it in to score the game’s first goal.

Anderson increased the lead to 2-0 when he found a loose puck at the side of the Jets net after a goal mouth scramble. He banked the puck in off of Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from a tight angle to give the Canadiens a two goal cushion.

The Habs rugged right winger ended the night with just under 16 minutes of ice time, but he played well and consistently throughout the game. When the Habs looked like they might be giving up too many chances late in the third period, Anderson created a couple of turnovers, along with Jesperi Kotkaniemi, that kept the puck in the Jets zone for a while to take the pressure off the Habs defenders and allow them to change and get sorted out.

It also allowed Price to take a breath before making a few more saves to close out the win.