Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Seesaw Effort That Was Enough In Game 50
The Montreal Canadiens returned from their All Star break last night with a game on the road against the Washington Capitals.
It was the Canadiens 50th game of the season and they once again entered with a chance to return to "NHL .500" as they had a record of 20-21-8 in their first 49 games of the season.
Here are 24 thoughts on the Habs return to the ice against the Capitals.
First Period Thoughts
Sam Montembeault got the start and he needs to be considered the starter for the final 33 games of the season. He has already signed a contract extension and the team seems ready to run with him, but they need to give him a run as the number one guy.
The game kind of felt like Canadiens versus former Canadiens. The Capitals have Max Pacioretty, Joel Edmundson and Charlie Lindgren on the roster and Kirk Muller behind the bench.
The Canadiens unorthodox goaltending scenario is not ideal, but maybe it all could have been avoided if they just kept Lindgren. The 30 year old has a 2.59 GAA with a .916 SV% in his first 21 games of this season.
Mike Matheson looked to keep the puck inside the offensive zone but it was blown down for offside. I always thought the offside review was stupid because its sole purpose is to take goals off the scoreboard. Why can't we review offsides that were not actually offside and bring the faceoff back inside the attacking zone?
Nick Suzuki sure looked like an All Star early in last night's game. He opened the scoring as he hammered a one-timer over Lindgren and then showed some poise and confidence with the puck as he collected a rebound off a Kaiden Guhle shot that hit the post. Suzuki was on a tight angle and had little time but got the puck under control and fired it into the back of the net.
Cole Caufield set up the first Suzuki goal by making a great defensive play in the neutral zone to force a turnover and then land a perfect tape to tape saucer pass onto the stick of Suzuki. Caufield had a bit of a dip in production earlier in the season but he has 13 points on his current ten game point streak and once again looks like a first line winger.
Perhaps I spoke too soon about Lindgren being the answer the Canadiens missed out on in goal. Michael Pezzetta fired a puck over his glove hand 13 minutes into the game and Lindgren was done after allowing three goals on nine shots. Upon further review, he also had a 3.05 GAA and .899 SV% in 31 games last season so we can stick with Montembeault.
The Canadiens, who confirmed they were sellers by trading Sean Monahan days ago, looked like an elite, well oiled machine in the first 20 minutes last night. They outshot the Capitals 14-5, were drawing up wild plays to get shots on goal off faceoffs with seconds left, and were up 3-0 when the buzzer sounded for the first time.
Second Period Thoughts
The Canadiens got a power play due to a Capitals "grabbing the face mask" penalty. I have never heard of such a call but apparently that is a penalty call in the NHL now.
Alex Ovechkin could play against the Canadiens until he is 100 and he will always score against them. He has flat out dominated this team since he was a rookie and it continued as he one-timed a puck past Montembeault to narrow the Habs lead to 3-1.
Kind of a wild fact mentioned on the boroadcast that Pacioretty is not facing any former teammates in this game. Brendan Gallagher was on his team for years but he is suspended and is the only player still left from the Pacioretty era. It really doesn't seem that long ago so it highlights how much turnover this team has gone through in a short period of time.
David Savard absolutely saved a goal in the second period when he blocked a Pacioretty shot. There was a mad scramble around the Canadiens net before the puck was moved to Pacioretty and he appeared ot have the entire net to shoot at while Montembeault didn't even know where the puck was. Savard got down and into the shooting lane and blocked the shot from ever reaching the net.
There has been some talk lately about whether Savard could get traded but general managers love this stuff from veteran, right shooting defenders and I think the Canadiens will get a Ben Chiarot type offer that they can not refuse.
The Canadiens were well ahead on the shot clock after the first period but a Nick Dowd wrister with 6:15 to go in the second period tied the shot clock up at 18. The Canadiens simply are not good enough to play a 60 minutes game without being completed dominated for a long stretch at some point.
Joel Armia made a really skilled one handed spin move as he received a pass at the blue line and then burst down the wing, cut to the net and fired a shot off the post. He has played well this season. Maybe the Canadiens can get something for him in a trade. Not a lot, but like an overpaid center like Ryan Johansen or something like that would be fine.
Sam Montembeault was ridiculously good in the second period. He already has a slightly above average save percentage this season. Just imagine what he could do behind a league average team.
Third Period Thoughts
Brandon Gignac has looked pretty good in his Canadiens debut. Wearing Sergei Kostitsyn's number 74 jersey, he is clearly fast enough to play at the NHL and has the work ethic to succeed at this level. With the dearth of centers on the roster, there is an opportunity for this minor league veteran to play third line center the rest of the season.
While there are not enough centers on the team, there are too many defensemen. Jordan Harris was a healthy scratch last night but his play doesn't warrant him sitting in the stands. We are circling back to trading Savard now, but it just makes so much sense so these young players get to play regularly. Sure, it is great to have veterans around to guide the younger players, but it isn't good for the younger players if it means they don't play.
Juraj Slafkovsky nearly scored a goal after Darcy Kuemper turned the puck over the Caufield. Slafkovsky missed, but then hustled for a loose puck and met Tom Wilson with a body check before taking possession of the puck from the ferocious winger and protected it from Wilson before making a pass down low. It didn't lead to much, but the battle along the boards against one of the nastiest wingers in the league was impressive for the Canadiens youngster.
A couple of shifts later, Slafkovsky picked up a pass from Jake Evans in the offensive zone, made a nice little toe drag move to the middle of the ice and then fired the puck into the back of the net with a wicked wrist shot. All the tools are coming together from forechecking to goal scoring and the 6'3" winger is becoming difficult for opposing teams to handle.
Mike Matheson had an assist on Slafkovsky's goal as well and set a career high in points with 35. Pretty impressive considering this is the team's 50th game of the season. Interestingly, his previous career year was last season with the Canadiens when he scored 34 points in just 48 games. No one could have predicted he would be this good when the Canadiens acquired him.
Rasmus Sandin fired a laser of a one-timer over the shoulder of Montembeault to make it a 4-2 game. What a shot from a young player, I would recommend not every giving up on a player like him in a trade unless you are a team that doesn't win Stanley Cups for like 60 years.
Slafkovsky absolutely labeled a one-timer on the power play, in Alex Ovechkin's house, and had his second of the game to put it out of reach for the Capitals. The 19 year old is now up to 15 points in his last 21 games and is clearly arriving as a force to be reckoned with in the NHL.
Overall, an up and down effort from the Canadiens. Suzuki was great in the first, Slafkovsky incredible in the third and Montembeault terrific for 60 minutes. Habs are up to 50 points in 50 games on the season and remain on pace for 82.
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