Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Frustrating Loss To Flames
Third Period Thoughts
Flames are 4-8-2 on the season and there is a lot of chatter that they will trade away a handful of defensemen before the trade deadline. Seems like a nice time to remind everyone that the Canadiens own their 2025 first round draft pick. They have that pick because they were willing to take Sean Monahan from the Flames. Monahan has six goals and 13 points this season, both of those would lead the Flames right now.
Just as I typed that Andrew Mangiapane scored his fifth of the year which puts him in the team lead for the Flames. Still one back of Monahan on the season. Ouuu challenge on the play!! I love this rule when the other team scores. When is the last time one of these was not overturned? Still 2-1 Flames and Monahan still has two more goals than any Flames player this season.
Speaking of Flames and not scoring, I remember desperately hoping Jonathan Huberdeau would become a free agent in 2023 and sign with the Canadiens, but that was a couple years ago. Yikes does he look bad and he only makes $10.5 million for seven more years after this one.
Matheson has looked a lot better tonight. Always willing to jump into the play and can help create offense, but he has been smarter picking his spots and not getting caught defensively. He’s been burned a bunch of times in recent games by being a little too aggressive trying to create offense from nothing, but is playing a really controlled, smart game. Or, the Flames just really suck offensively.
Caufield gets a glorious chance at the side of the net but for the first time tonight missed the net. His shot was from a nearly impossible angle, but he has been hitting the net from everywhere. He had Markstrom out of his crease and just missed tying the game on the power play.
Ooooops, I shouldn’t have said anything about Matheson. He makes a questionable drop pass on the power play which puts Caufield into an impossible spot and the Flames end up on a two-on-nobody shorthanded though they do fire the puck over the glass.
The referees have done a great job not stepping into the middle of this one, until there was three minutes left. Brendan Gallagher is battling at the side of the net and gets an inexplicable call for tripping.
Good game by Montembeault, Habs looked really good most of the night but sometimes the puck just won’t go in. Starting to feel really bad for Anderson. It was annoying that he hadn’t scored in five or six games but now it is 16 and he is doing everything right and it just won’t go in the net.
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