Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Slow Start, Loss To Red Wings
Second Period Thoughts
Joel Armia scores a shorthanded goal to pull the Canadiens within one early in the second period. While he doesn’t score often and isn’t living up to his $3.4 million cap hit, he remains an asset on the penalty kill and is a great defensive winger. Can’t see a team trading for him this season but someone will likely take him in the summer when he has one year left on his deal. Maybe the Chicago Blackhawks who will need some help to reach the salary floor.
An oddly bouncing puck resulted in Armia’s scoring chance as the Red Wings turned it over in the attacking zone. It wasn’t exactly the same spot where Barron bobbled the puck in the first period, leading to a Red Wings shorthanded goal, but you have to wonder if the ice isn’t great at the Bell Centre as we have seen the puck bouncing around a lot in this game.
The Red Wings restored their two goal lead just 45 seconds later and while still on the man advantage. Allen looked genuinely shocked that Alex Debrincat shot the puck from a tough angle with a one-timer. I don’t know how any NHL goalie can be surprised that Debrincat was thinking shot before the puck even got to him. Allen also looked a little confused on the Wings shorthanded goal in the first. He simply had no idea where the puck went after he stopped it and that has happened a couple times. He is not sharp.
Jayden Struble is one tough dude. He was elbowed in the face by Robby Fabbri, barely flinched, shoved him back which knocked the Red Wings winger to the ice, but also kept his composure just enough to not take a retaliation penalty. It is one thing to be tough and physical, but you can’t just cross check a guy and sit in the box every time you get angry. Smart play by Struble to let Fabbri know he didn’t like it, but also not negate the power play as Fabbri was called for elbowing.
Brendan Gallagher is playing the front of the net on the top power play. This was his usual spot in his heyday, but we haven’t seen him there in a while. He has certainly been playing better lately, so it will be interesting to see if he can bang in a couple of goals on the man advantage like he used to. At the very least, he can’t be worse than Josh Anderson who had been playing this role.
Allen made a couple of great saves on the Wings best players. He robbed Debrincat on a one-timer after a pass from behind the net and late in the period he gets across the crease to deny Larkin who appeared to have a tap-in goal. He was asleep earlier in the game but he woke up halfway through the second.
Barron scored a goal late in the first period and another rush up ice nearly led to him setting up Caufield for a scoring chance at then end of the second period. He isn’t afraid to jump into the rush and is part of the reason the Canadiens, surprisingly, lead the league in goals by defensemen.
Just like his last game, Struble has played less than six minutes after two periods. He doesn’t bring a ton of offense, and the Canadiens have been trailing a lot in these two games, but he needs to get on the ice a bit more as he has done nothing wrong at this point.
Third Period Thoughts
Weird play early in the third period where Josh Anderson kind of grabs onto a Red Wings defensemen but then gets thrown to the ice by that defensemen while both players are several feet from ever reaching the puck. Anderson gets a holding penalty, but there is no call for him being fired to the ice. Strange time to apply the rule to one player but not the other.
Habs back on the power play and it is interesting to see Caufield setting up on the right side a lot with the man advantage tonight. That’s usually Nick Suzuki’s spot, but Caufield can fire a wrist shot from the high slot like the best of them…. and then Suzuki heads back to that spot and fires a wrist shot into the back of the net to make it a one goal game!
The Canadiens are trying to rebuild and most would suggest you need to take your time through the draft to do that. The Red Wings however, have built a lot of their team through free agency and trades and look to have taken a big step. Just by my count (I actually checked capfriendly) it looks like nine players playing tonight for the Red Wings were free agent signings, five were acquired via trade and only five were draft picks of the team.
Now, I am not saying the current Detroit Red Wings are the only blueprint to follow, and the five drafted players include Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Joe Veleon, Michael Rasmussen and Moritz Seider who are some of their key building blocks, but rebuilding teams can’t be terrified of trading for a great goal scorer like Debrincat or signing a key free agent if they fit a role on the team. Just something to keep in mind for the Canadiens when they have oodles of cap space in the summer.
Joel Armia taking a shift with Suzuki and Caufield just makes no sense. Ever.
The high sticking rule is so weird. Mitchell Stephens pretty much pitchforked a Red Wings player in the face but it is only two minutes since that player was not cut. However, had he skated past him with his stick up too high and accidentally clipped him in the lip and cut it then it would have been twice the penalty with half the impact.
Gustav Lindstrom jumped into the offensive zone and tied this game as he capitalized on a great pass from none other than Josh Anderson. It is almost unfair at this point that Anderson has not scored a goal, but he recovered a bouncing puck in the slot and instead of panicking and firing it at the net (who would blame him at this point?) he made a spinning pass to Lindstrom and set up the tying goal which sent the game to extra time.
Valiant effort to come back from a 3-0 first period deficit, but the Canadiens fall short and lose in overtime when Jake Walman hammers a puck home after looking to pass the puck from about three feet offside. Habs now have 23 points after 24 games.
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