Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Slump Busting Win

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Seattle Kraken last night looking to get back on track after a slow start against the Detroit Red Wings led to an overtime loss.

The Canadiens entered the game with a 10-11-3 record and 23 points in their first 24 games. They took on a similarly scuffling Kraken squad who were 8-11-6 when the puck dropped to begin last night’s game.

Here are 24 thoughts, observations and musings on the Canadiens 25th game of the season.

First Period Thoughts

Sam Montembeault got the start last night and he always seems to get the net when a struggling or low scoring team is  on the schedule. I thought they were showcasing him to improve his stats for a trade, but with him already signing a contract extension last week I find it off they sat him against the Detroit Red Wings who are playing well this season and not against the Kraken who are playing poorly this season.

I thought Sean Monahan couldn’t find less offensive wingers than Josh Anderson and Tanner Pearson but last night he was on a line with Anderson and Jake Evans. Anderson has not scored a goal in his past 24 games this season and Evans hasn’t scored in his past 23. The team has played 24 games this season.

I don’t recall the Canadiens acquiring Jamie Oleksiak but he might add some offensive touch as he makes a great pass to Josh Anderson in the slot. It must be tempting for the zero goal scorer to shoot from everywhere but he made the right play and made a pass across to a wide open Monahan who opened the scoring.

Monahan needs to keep putting a few pucks in the net if the Canadiens want to get good value for him at the trade deadline. More than that he just needs to stay healthy and look like he can contribute as a third line center on a great team. He has certainly done that, though his offense dried up for a while. Still, if Lars Eller can get a second round pick at last year’s trade deadline, the Canadiens are getting at least that for Monahan, if not a lot more.

Mike Matheson was run into by the Kraken goaltender at like the hash marks and got a goaltender interference penalty for it. What exactly is he supposed to do when the goalie slides that far out of the net for no particular reason? It had to be ten feet outside the blue paint. If anything, the Kraken goalie interfered with Matheson who never touched the puck and was just gliding through the slot.

Juraj Slafkovksy has been promoted to the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and fits right in on the top line. He has won some board battles for puck possession, forced a turnover and made a smart little pass to Suzuki to create an excellent scoring chance late in the first. He is quickly becoming an impact player.

Montembeault had made some great saves, mostly with his left pad. The only thing he can move quicker than his left leg is his right hand to sign a contract that will guarantee he earns nearly $10 million over the next three seasons.

Even though he signed an extension, I still see Montembeault as a guy who splits starts over the next three seasons. The Canadiens still need someone to play the other 41 games. It might be Jake Allen next season but it certainly won’t be him for the next two, so the time seems right to move on from the veteran and see if Cayden Primeau can be their 1B guy for the next three years.

Second Period Thoughts

Another great shift from the Suzuki, Caufield Slafkovsky line to begin the second period. Kind of feels like we could be talking about this line for the next decade. We have known for a while what Suzuki and Caufield can do together but they always seemed to be missing a big skilled winger to round out the trio.

Jayden Struble made a subtle little pass along the blue line to keep the play alive and it led to the Canadiens second goal. It was interesting to see Arber Xhekaj sent down to the Laval Rocket yesterday and though I don’t expect him to stay there long, he wouldn’t have gone down at all if Struble was struggling. With David Savard also close to a return, and Xhekaj likely only going to the AHL for a couple of games, it will be interesting to see who stays in the lineup.

Speaking of the Habs second goal, it was Tanner Pearson who snapped home a rebound and he looked pretty relieved to finally see a puck go in. He didn’t score in the month of November, but he does play a smart two-way game and isn’t really hurting the team. That’s eight points in 25 games and he is an experienced Stanley Cup winner. Could see him dealt at the trade deadline as well, though he wouldn’t fetch the return Monahan will.

Either way, Pearson once said he just hopes he can hold his kids again after his hand injury last season was not properly dealt with by the Vancouver Canucks so you like to see him healthy and contributing.

Brendan Gallagher got an assist on that goal as he tipped the puck on its way to the net from the top of the crease. This led to the goaltender not playing the puck cleanly and an easy rebound for Pearson. This is the 700th game of Gallagher’s career and most would have guessed he would have played zero when he was younger. The scrappy, undersized winger was a fifth round pick, but he worked for everything he has ever received and dealt with serious injuries along the way. It is quite an achievement for him to get to 700.

Monahan scored a second goal and this one was a beauty setup with Suzuki and Caufield on the power play. Monahan is now on pace for 26 goals and 49 points so that trade value is climbing back up.

The Canadiens got that power play because Slafkovsky took the puck through the middle of the ice, split the defense, chipped the puck behind them and just about broke in along on the goalie but Adam Larsson hauled him down. Big boy play by Slafkovsky and it resulted in a goal.

Jared McCann scores for the Kraken after the Habs veteran line of Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Pearson gets caught in their own end for a nearly three minute shift. This just reminds me of the team time the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for McCann, protected Alex Kerfoot in an expansion draft instead, and then lost McCann to Seattle. Interesting decision. Then they signed Nick Ritchie because they needed a first line winger.