HabsWorld.net --
After a rather successful opening week, the Habs kicked off their second week of the season by hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was a rather interesting match early in the season in that the Penguins would be a team for the Canadiens to overtake should they desire to start climbing up the rankings as they said the goal was to start the season. One game will not determine this, but it’s a nice measuring stick early in the season.
The first 40 minutes was a tale of two games as the Penguins dominated the first period, but the Habs dominated the second. Montreal then came out in the third and played like they were down a goal. They were pressing and taking needless chances which ultimately cost them as they lost by a final of 6-3.
Montreal’s Lines
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook – Kirby Dach – Joel Armia
Josh Anderson – Jake Evans — Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman – Christian Dvorak – Oliver Kapanen
Mike Matheson — Kaiden Guhle
Lane Hutson – David Savard
Arber Xhekaj – Justin Barron
Samuel Montembeault
10 Thoughts
1) What a horrible start to the game. The Habs were completely asleep, and the veteran Penguins took full advantage of the situation. The shots were 7-0 for Pittsburgh in the first ten minutes. Lars Eller opened the scoring seven minutes in as Savard blew a tire in the neutral zone that created a 2-on-1 and Eller made a victim of both Hutson and Montembeault.
2) With three minutes to play, Savard’s rough period continued as he joined Hutson behind his own net which left Rickard Rakell wide-open in the slot. Rakell got the puck and beat Montembeault.
3) It was a shift by Evans, Gallagher, and Anderson with seven minutes to play in the period that woke the team up. Their forecheck created some space and Hutson was there to create plays with that space as Evans came close to scoring. In the end, it was a nice Hutson-ian fake by Matheson at the blue line that opened a passing lane to Guhle. Guhle completed a one-timer to get the Habs on the board. Worth noting that in a rather negative first period, Guhle and Barron stood out as players who showed up to play.
4) The Canadiens bounced back nicely in the second as it was their turn to dominate a period and walk away with a 2-1 lead in the period making the game 3-3 heading to the third. Their forecheck was quite strong all period long as we saw plays from Slafkovsky, Dach, as well as usual suspects Gallagher, Anderson, and Heineman. Montreal outshot the Penguins for the period.
5) Credit to the Montreal coaching staff who have been very active in organizing their roster for the game based on what they see in the first period. For the second time this season, the blue line pairings saw an entire shuffle with Guhle pairing with Hutson and Barron with Matheson after a strong first period from Barron. Savard joined Xhekaj on the bottom pair.
6) The Habs’ first goal of the second period came on the man advantage. Slafkovsky won a puck battle down low and then he immediately cut to the net. The puck cycle at the top of the zone before finding Suzuki in his office as he delivered a masterful pass back to Slafkovsky who scored one of the easiest goals of his career. Heineman and Eller exchanged goals near the end of the period on two goals that the goaltenders likely wanted back.
7) The pace in the third period was far more balanced for the first seven minutes, but the Canadiens were taking chances, acting like they were behind on the scoreboard which was very strange. The Penguins appeared poised to take advantage of such undisciplined play.
8) Finally, Montreal got caught as Erik Karlsson got the puck at the offensive blue line and delivered a pass cross-ice to Kevin Hayes who gave Montembeault no chance in getting the puck to the net quickly for the 4-3 goal.
9) The Penguins would make it 5-3 on terrible reads by both Caufield and Matheson that created a 2-on-0 where Evgeni Malkin made a nice pass to Kris Letang that left Montembeault out to dry.
10) The Habs really pressed for the final four minutes as they pulled the netminder and added Hutson to the power play unit. Many chances were had, but the Canadiens continued to seek a true game-breaker who can take a situation like this on his shoulders and do the heavy lifting. Malkin finally put the nail in the coffin with an empty netter.
HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars
1st Star – Kaiden Guhle
In a night full of uneven performances, Guhle was a steady force as he continues to establish himself as the anchor that allows Matheson and Hutson to be offensively dynamic. Guhle is physical, excellent defensively, and yet he still makes excellent first passes and now adds some important goal scoring with that nice one-timer on this night.
Stats: 1 goal, +1, 1 shot, 2 hits, 19:07 T.O.I.
2nd Star – Juraj Slafkovsky
I felt like this was Slafkovsky’s best game so far this season. He used his body to win battles and protect pucks throughout the game. It’s not surprising that this was the top line’s most offensively dangerous game at even-strength. And how about the tip of the cap in recognizing that pass from Suzuki.
Stats: 1 goal, -2, 3 shots, 3 hits, 19:59 T.O.I.
3rd Star – Emil Heineman
Heineman remains a work in progress in both the defensive zone and the neutral zone. However, his prowess on the forecheck and his shot are already big pluses at the NHL level. Many will argue short sample size and ask me to wait it out before making that evaluation, but these were the tools that came advertised with him, so it’s hard to see it as his strengths that he’s taking advantage of at the NHL level. Exciting times ahead if prospects can all understand their individual game the way Heineman has seemingly understood his.
Stats: 1 goal, +1, 2 shots, 2 hits, 11:28 T.O.I.
