Preseason Game 1 Review: Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Hockey season is finally here! And the Montreal Canadiens are kicking it off vs. the Philadelphia Flyers. How did the Habs fare?
Ah, NHL hockey, it’s been far too long. The road to the NHL season has officially kicked off, with the Montreal Canadiens just finishing their first preseason game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Habs and the Flyers haven’t had the most storied history together, their biggest altercation in recent memory being the Eastern Conference Final of 2010, where the Flyers ended the Habs Cinderella run. But the two teams will be linked for the next few years as both have two of the biggest young Russian stars in Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov.
Well, they played around with us for 2/3rds of the game, but really put it away in the third.
They went into the third up 1-0 off the strength of Jared Davidson’s effort and Luke Tuch’s goal. But the floodgates really opened in the third.
It started with David Savard (with a second Davidson assist), and within three minutes Emile Heineman and Josh Anderson (from a brilliant Joshua Roy) blew the game right open.
The test of the game went as expected with new Canadien Alex Barre-Boulet putting the fifth goal on the board.
The third star of the game was Alex Barre-Boulet. The second star was Oliver Kapanen. The first star was Lane Hutson.
The Goalies
As is tradition in most early preseason games, two goalies split the crease in this game. The first half was played by likely NHL backup Cayden Primeau, who was replaced halfway through the second period by Jakub Dobeš.
Obviously by the score there isn’t really anything negative to say about either keeper. Admittedly, the Flyers should have scored the first goal, as it doesn’t look like Primeau’s pads were pushed in by former Canadien Anthony Richard, but other than that he was poised and played well.
The Defence
I think that it is safe to say that the Montreal Canadiens have the defence pretty much sorted out.
Between young but established players in the NHL to players just coming up, the Canadiens have a fantastic mix of defensive defenders, offensive minds, fast skaters and big hitters.
Logan Mailloux’s game has gone up leaps and bounds since he has been drafted, and he looked like a strong presence on the back end.
But the clear standout of the night in any position was Lane Hutson. It’s insane that he fell to 61, and he is proving everyone with questions on his size wrong.
It almost seemed like he never left the ice. Hutson was always making plays, whether stripping the puck in his own zone, to walking the line and making fantastic passes. Hutson is undoubtedly a future star.
The Forwards
It may have taken a little bit, but the offence showed up. Particularly early in the third, with 3 goals in just under 2.5 minutes.
Okay, that isn’t exactly fair. The offence was buzzing throughout, and had some fantastic chances, but bounces and shots were just not going their way.
Kirby Dach returned to the ice after his scary injury last year and looked pretty good. He was engaged and physical, and had one of Montreal’s best chances that he rang off the post.
Jared Davidson was a pleasant surprise this game, single-handedly causing Montreal’s first goal, doing everything but put it in the net, and earning a second assist on David Savard’s goal. While Davidson still needs at least a season or two in the minors, he has marked himself as a player to watch now and in the future.
Other young forwards that made their mark include Luke Tuch who had a solid game, Joshua Roy who flashed his creativity and offensive skill, and Oliver Kapanen who at times flew around the ice and had some great chances.
One just hopes that the Habs can find a bit more finishing to their game. This could have been a lot more one-sided, but some grade-A scoring chances were missed on.
All-In-all, it was a fantastic start to the preseason for the Canadiens. There wasn’t a very weak performance anywhere, and a lot of players are making pretty strong cases for NHL playing time. It will be fascinating to see how the roster evolves over these next games, especially on that packed blue line.
The Montreal Canadiens next preseason game is on Tuesday September 24th at 7:00pm E.S.T.
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