The Habs were back on the ice Wednesday for a second game in two nights as they kicked off a three-game road trip by visiting Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The team was fresh off a loss in what was a very winnable game where they had the lead late. They allowed two goals on blown coverage by players who have recently been under fire as those players did not help their cause.
Mike Matheson and Patrick Laine accompanied the team but ultimately did not participate in this contest which was not surprising even if it was disappointing. Coach St. Louis once again juggled the lines, and despite this writer’s initial confusion, this time the new lines had some bite and will hopefully be left together for a bit.
The Blue Jackets had better offensive statistics, but the Habs had better defensive and special teams. Zach Werenski had especially been on fire of late as the reigning NHL’s first star of the week. The Canadiens continued their special teams dominance as they killed several penalties. This was key as they were able to come out of this game with a 4-3 overtime victory.
Habs Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Alex Newhook
Juraj Slafkovsky – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher
Joshua Roy – Kirby Dach – Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans – Joel Armia
Lane Hutson – Kaiden Guhle Arber Xhekaj – David Savard
Jayden Struble – Justin Barron
Cayden Primeau
10 Thoughts
1) After a tentative first few minutes where the Habs allowed Columbus easy access to Primeau, the Blue Jackets pulled a Habs and gifted the visitors a power play. It was terrible, but the failure seemed to ignite the top line who came out with a great shift afterwards that forced Elvis Merzlikins to make a few great saves.
2) With eleven minutes to play in the period, Barron got caught looking at the puck on a pedestrian dump-in. The puck went right by him to the guy he was supposed to be covering, and the Jackets took an early lead as Mathieu Olivier beat Primeau. Barron finished the period with more atrocious play as he sent a brilliant suicide pass toward Suzuki who barely got out of the way of an Olivier freight train that was headed his way.
3) With seven to play, after another strong shift by the top line, the Jackets coughed up the puck at their defensive blue line. Slafkovsky jumped on the occasion, skated in, and quickly released a shot below the blocker that surprised Merzlikins and evened the score.
4) Hutson took a useless risk that lured Guhle into a last-second penalty to end the first. This meant the Habs started the second shorthanded. After an early post by the Jackets, the Habs settled down and killed the penalty. On the next shift, Struble and Barron got caught flat-footed as Yegor Chinakhov blew by them and buried a shot through Primeau.
5) The Canadiens were gifted a generous man advantage as Sean Kuraly was called for hooking. Suzuki missed a pass in the offensive zone and the Jackets decided to attack with three players. They paid for it when they lost the puck as Slafkovsky quickly fired a pass to Caufield who skated in all alone and buried one five-hole to tie it up.
6) The rest of the second period was a spirited affair with nice offensive plays at both ends, good saves, excellent defensive coverage, and physical play. Xhekaj was particularly strong on the blue line, the Dach line had some noticeably strong shifts, and Gallagher even dropped the gloves with Zach Werenski. This was the type of fun period that most fans anticipated from this team at the onset of the season, win or lose.
7) The first eight minutes of the period saw both teams visibly afraid of making the mistake that would cost their team the game. The result was the early abandonment of offensive plays and some low-event hockey. Just before the half of the period, Armia found a streaking Heineman in the neutral zone. Heineman put his shoulder down and drove through Damon Severson who was trying to stop him. Heineman cut to the middle and caught Merzlikins moving early on his lateral movement to beat him short side and gave the Habs a second lead in the game.
8) For some strange reason, gaining a lead with 11 minutes to play somehow meant “sit back and try to defend this lead” for the Canadiens. For a team that had played so intensely for the previous 20-plus minutes, their reaction to the goal made absolutely no sense and was frustrating to watch. With seven minutes to play, another poor puck play by Primeau resulted in a defensive shift where Werenski activated and was able to bank a pass off Guhle and into the net to tie the game at three.
9) The Habs killed a dumb Barron penalty with three minutes to play and spent the rest of the period in their defensive zone, lucky to get out with at least one point.
10) 44 seconds into the overtime period, Kent Johnson tried to draw a penalty by falling on the ice with Suzuki on his tail. It was a good non-call by the official, but the result was immediate. Hutson came up the ice, found Suzuki the trailer, and the two Blue Jackets had no choice but to cover the passes to Hutson and Caufield and leave Merzlikins to face the shooter. Merzlikins made an excellent initial save, but Suzuki had too much space and was able to pounce on his own rebound to end the game.
HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars
1st Star – Cole Caufield
Caufield started okay but got better as the game moved along. He attacked with speed and looked dangerous after the first period. I openly questioned the move to place Newhook on that line, but after watching the two games, I am forced to admit that it has allowed Caufield to use his speed much more effectively and he’s looked dangerous throughout those two games. A renewed dedication to shoot the puck also helps that perception for this player.
Stats: 1 goal, even, 5 shots, 2 hits, 16:55 T.O.I.
2nd Star – Emil Heineman
Heineman had a really strong game on the forecheck and making sure he played physical throughout. As per usual, he was as steady as possible positionally. His goal was a thing of beauty, if I’m a winger playing higher than Emil on the current Habs roster, I’m getting my ass in gear before I lose my spot to this high-motor player who just seems to get it.
Stats: 1 goal, +1, 1 shot, 2 hits, 13:31 T.O.I.
3rd Star – Juraj Slafkovsky
I debated inserting Gallagher here who certainly continues a crazy good season and even added a fight to his game on this night. Could have also added Xhekaj who played his best game of the season. But, Slafkovsky really found another gear after his goal that felt like we were rediscovering a player who belonged in the top of the lineup. Much like Caufield above, a place next to Gallagher seems to have allowed Slafkovsky to use his size and forecheck to have an effective game, and he really looked re-engaged after his goal. Let’s hope it carries through the rest of the season.
Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, even, 1 shot, 1 hit, 13:04 T.O.I.