Montreal Canadiens: 24 Thoughts On Habs Seesaw Effort That Was Enough In Game 50

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.