The Montreal Canadiens entered this game against the New York Islanders with more questions than answers after losing three of their last four. The loss to the Detroit Red Wings had them in a three-way tie with the Red Wings and Boston Bruins and only one point ahead of the Islanders in the standings.
This felt like a must-win game for the Canadiens and while it was up and down, they were able to wake up in the third period and secure two points on Saturday night. These are five takeaways from the game against the Islanders as the Canadiens remain in the Top 3 of the Atlantic Division.
Montreal Canadiens' power play delivers three goals
The Canadiens' power play has been in a bit of a slump as of late, and entering this game had only two power play goals in 13 chances over a six-game stretch. However, against the Islanders, they woke up with two goals and really needed it to secure the win.
In the first period, it was Juraj Slafkovsky who delivered the first power play goal of the game, and it was his 14th of the season. It is also his 26th career power-play goal, and that is a franchise record for most power-play goals before turning 22 years old.
The big power play goal was in the second period as the Canadiens needed some kind of a spark after a lackluster second period. After Alex Newhook scored earlier in the period to tie the game up, the Canadiens were back on the power play, where Cole Caufield was able to give Montreal the lead.
Caufield wasn't done there as he added another power play goal late in the third period.
Alex Newhook helps get the second line back on track
One of the big concerns as of late has been the performance of the second line since Slafkovsky was moved up to the top line next to Caufield and Nick Suzuki. The group of Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov just hasn't been performing well as of late and combined had one goal and one assist over the past four games.
In the second period though, this line made the play that really helped get Montreal back in this game. For most of the period, the Canadiens were struggling to get anything going and didn't have a shot on goal for the first 10 minutes of the period.
However, Newhook was able to beat Ilya Sorokin to tie the game back up at two and scored his second goal in nine games. The Canadiens certainly don't want to move Slafkovsky off the top line, especially after a game like this, but they may not have much of a choice if this second line can't build off what they were able to do against the Islanders.
Cole Caufield with third career hat trick
The last time the Montreal Canadiens were on home ice, Cole Caufield sent the fans home happy with an overtime goal, which was his 40th of the season. It was the first time the Canadiens had a 40-goal scorer in over 30 seasons.
On Saturday, Caufield gave fans another reason to celebrate as he had a hat trick, including two huge goals in the third period. He now has 43 goals on the season and has not only made 50 goals a realistic possibility, but he has also put himself in a position to be the first Canadiens player to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.
The 43 goals now puts Caufield only two goals behind Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead in the category.
Another solid performance from the new defensive pairs limiting high-danger chances
Ahead of the Boston Bruins game, the Montreal Canadiens shuffled their defensive pairs in hopes of getting a better performance than what they had gotten. This included splitting up Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson, which isn't ideal but was needed when considering the rest of the roster.
The results have been really good in terms of limiting high-danger chances, and that was the case once again on Saturday night. After allowing only 10 in each of the prior two games, the Canadiens limited the Islanders to just five the entire night in 5v5 situations, according to Natural Stat Trick.
When considering the Canadiens had only one game in the prior six where they allowed fewer than 11 and on average were allowing 12.3 per game, this is a change that has worked out for the better. It is something the Canadiens are probably going to have to stick with for the remainder of the season.
Montreal Canadiens show the development they really need in the third period
Too many times this season, the Montreal Canadiens have had a lead in the third period but would watch the other team, not only tie it up but then take the lead. it resulted in Montreal squandering those two points and is one of the reasons they find themselves in the middle of a tight playoff race.
There is no better example than the last time the Canadiens played the Islanders, when they had a one-goal lead for most of the period, but the Islanders would score in the closing minutes of regulation and then win it in overtime.
It felt like this game might be heading in that direction as Matthew Schaefer would score a power play goal in the opening minute of the third period to tie it at three. However, instead of folding, the Canadiens responded in a big way with four straight goals that put the game out of reach and secured the win.
In a tight playoff race like the one the Canadiens find themselves in, every point matters, and the two points they got tonight created just a little bit more breathing room with the Islanders. It is the type of game that can be a turning point for a team, that can help build some confidence for a team that is still trying to learn how to win and put teams away.