Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Embarrassing Defensive Effort Vs Vegas
The Montreal Canadiens host the Vegas Golden Knights while looking to snap a two game losing skid that came on the heels of a big victory over the Boston Bruins.
With the Bruins on the schedule again on Saturday night, the Habs were hoping to not head there while on a three game losing streak. They entered last night’s contest with Vegas holding a record of 7-7-2.
As the Canadiens try to bring their points percentage back up over .500 on the season, here are 24 thoughts on the Habs vs Golden Knights.
First Period Thoughts
Cayden Primeau starts and the team is certainly not making it easy on him as he plays just his third game of the season and it is against the defending Stanley Cup champions. I would have had Primeau play against the Flames on Tuesday, Jake Allen start this one and have Sam Montembeault face the Bruins again on Saturday after playing well against them last weekend. What do I know?
Arber Xhekaj steps up and crumples a Knight with a big hit in the neutral zone. The enforcer role is completely useless these days (just ask the Leafs) but it is great to have a big defenseman who can intimidate and use his size to throw opposing players around…. And also play a regular shift without allowing a goal against every game while never scoring.
Just like that Primeau makes a crazy save off William Karlsson, the Knights leading scorer, as he shows incredible side to side agility to kick the pad out and take away what looked like a sure goal. I like this kid and hope they find a way to keep him. Doesn’t really make sense to give up on Primeau without giving him a long look, just to keep Allen for one more year and then let him walk as a free agent.
Christian Dvorak blocks a shot and clears the puck and then denies the Knights as they re-enter the zone and clears it again. I know a lot of people don’t like what the Habs gave up for him over two years ago, and he hasn’t piled up offense, but he is a smart player who makes plays all over the ice.
Alex Newhook scores from a tough angle on the Canadiens first shot of the game (after Primeau made seven saves in the other end) and you can kinda tell Josh Anderson is happy they scored but also wondering how the heck did that go in and none of my chances ever go in?
Johnathan Kovacevic, a steady defensive presence on the blue line gets his first point of the season as he buries a wrist shot from the slot. You like to see a hardworking defensive player who sacrifices the body in the defensive zone get rewarded every now and then.
Interesting setup on the Habs first power play late in the period. Cole Caufield was on the right side which kind of takes out the one-timer option with him and Nick Suzuki was on the left side. Caufield hadn’t been using the one-timer a lot this season so maybe this gives him a new look. This is what the Maple Leafs do with Auston Matthews as he is usually on his strong side but can obviously still fire a wrist shot from there and score.
The Habs lead 2-0 after the first but they were a complete mess defensively. So many breakdowns in their own zone and excellent scoring chances for the Knights. Should be like 4-2 Vegas right now but Primeau was absolutely incredible. Still hope they keep him and move someone else but if they are planning on trading Primeau his stock went a lot higher in those 20 minutes.