Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Comeback Win Over Blue Jackets
Second Period
Down two after the first period, you would expect the Canadiens to come out hot and they did exactly that. The top line moves the puck around the offensive zone creating pressure and a good chance for Cole Caufield before Nick Suzuki steals a puck and fires home a wrist shot to get the Habs on the board. It is good to see Suzuki finally score his first of the season, should get him going offensively.
Justin Barron may have been a healthy scratch to start the year but how do you scratch him ever again? On one shift early in the second he just effortlessly carries the puck from his own zone into the attacking zone and then makes an enormous defensive play to stop a cross-ice pass on a two on one. He just calmly gets the job done all over the ice.
The Canadiens finally get a couple of power plays and it reminds me I should not have been upset that the Canadiens did not get the power plays they deserved in the first period.
Habs young defense make some great plays and have tons of potential, but they still show their age from time to time. The seas parted in the defensive zone right after a power play and the Blue Jackets got two huge scoring chances in a row. It’ll be a work in progress for years but you just hope to keep seeing the upward trajectory overall. Still seeing it with Harris, Xhekaj, Barron. Hope Guhle jumps right back into form upon his eventual return.
Speaking of Blue Jackets chances, neither of them went in as Sam Montembeault made huge saves. Is he really good? Is he about to let in six? Who knows with this guy?
Bemstrom scores his second goal of the night and it was set up by Roslovic who now has three points in this game. I may have been too harsh on the Blue Jackets first liners.
The Canadiens get away with one that is almost always called as a slash on the stick of Adam Fantilli broke his stick in two pieces. This is usually an automatic call but it is not, and then the Blue Jackets take an interference penalty on Josh Anderson. I’m guessing the Canadiens get called for a weak one in the near future to make things even.
In his second season of college hockey, Caufield mostly played right defense on the power play when most would expect him in Ovechkin’s spot on the left wing. It worked, as he won the Hobey Baker Award. He ended up there on a power play late in the second and it seemed to fool the Blue Jackets. Two forwards kind of overcommitted when Matheson had the puck up high trying to get in the lane between him and Caufield and it opened up a ton of space for Matheson who stepped up and fired home a wrist shot. A power play goal for the Habs!? Imagine. We haven’t seen one of those since Stephane Richer played here.