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After five straight losses, the Habs needed a win on Tuesday night to get back on track before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. This was the perfect occasion to get back in the win column as they visited the lowly San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks are in an intense battle of futility with the Blackhawks as they sit 11 points behind the last place team in the East. Still, the game promised some intrigue as two Calder Trophy nominees were facing each other as Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini both tried to gain ground on Dustin Wolf who should be considered the Calder favourite right now.
On the ice, it was a game that featured a long list of defensive mistakes and offensive chances as both netminders were rather generous with rebounds. The Habs got outshot but were ahead in shot attempts in the game. In the end, it was another Joel Armia shorthanded goal that was the difference as the Habs escaped with a win. It was a win that inspired little confidence in terms of play, but it might give the team some confidence back, so the 4-3 score is a welcome result heading into Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Habs Lineup
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Josh Anderson – Kirby Dach – Alex Newhook
Patrik Laine – Jake Evans – Joel Armia
Owen Beck – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher
Lane Hutson – Mike Matheson
Jayden Struble – Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard
Samuel Montembeault
10 Thoughts
1) The start of the game was rather strange statistically. The Habs were clearly in control of the pace and creating chances as Dvorak missed a perfect set up by Beck. However, the recent bad habit of trying to do too much on the ice continued and it created openings that allowed the opposition excellent scoring chances. The result was the Canadiens being out of position and a 7-4 shot advantage for San Jose in half a period. When the Habs were winning, they played safe but aggressive hockey and allowed the chances to come to them, the exact opposite of opening the game and exchanging chances with other teams.
2) The Sharks scored the only goal in the period on what was a rather weak penalty awarded to Slafkovsky. The goal was a thing of beauty as Celebrini started the play with a pass to the point after winning a board battle, saw the puck touch all four Shark players stick as they passed it around the entire zone before it returned to Celebrini with Montembeault completely at his mercy.
3) The shots in the period ended 12-7 for the Sharks. Montreal got a power play that wasn’t successful but at least it created some momentum for the team. The Habs pushed to end the period as Xhekaj, Suzuki, and Dvorak missed some good scoring chances. They remained over aggressive which resulted in chances against Montembeault, but the main take away from the period was their inability to finish on a long list of chances they created.
4) It was a much better start to the second period for the Habs who were able to open the flood gates on Alexandar Georgiev. It only took them five minutes to score twice and take a 2-1 lead. After taking the lead, the Habs saw Armia, Newhook, and Beck hit the post as Georgiev looked completely lost in his crease and he got little help from his teammates.
5) On the period’s first shift, Newhook received a WWE-style clothesline in the corner that resulted in a power play. The advantage wasted little time as the Sharks covered Laine, so Suzuki and Hutson found Caufield in the bumper for a one-timer that beat Georgiev. Four minutes later, a strong forechecking shift by Dach and Newhook resulted in the Sharks running around. Carrier cleverly faked a shot before returning the puck to Newhook who buried a goal. Georgiev never even moved on the goal as Slafkovsky’s screen in front of him was too effective for him to see the pass to Newhook.
6) San Jose would even the score with five minutes to play in the second period as they came in on a two-on-one that was well played by Xhekaj, but Collin Graf simply opted for a shot and beat Montembeault cleanly. Not the goaltender’s best if one is honest. The goal by the Sharks was predictable as the Habs continued to be far too permissive in its own zone and the home side was building momentum.
7) The Canadiens weren’t done helping the opposition as Newhook was guilty of interference with 3:45 to play in the period. The Habs were able to kill the penalty thanks to some excellent play by Armia. As the penalty expired, Suzuki got a great scoring chance that was once again stopped by the goal post. The Sharks then took a four-minute high-sticking penalty with 35 seconds to play. A period that was wildly entertaining ended with a 9-6 shot advantage for the Sharks for a 20-13 game advantage.
8) The start of the third period looked disastrous as the better part of a four-minute advantage was completely squandered. With seconds to go in the power play, it was Newhook who settled down and allowed an aggressive Sharks penalty kill to over play their coverage and open a productive passing lane. The lane was a cross-ice pass to Dach who immediately sent the puck to the front of the net where both Gallagher and Dvorak were ready to deflect the puck. The redirect came from Gallagher’s stick, and the Habs were ahead with 17 minutes to play.
9) The Habs appeared to be in control of the game as it was mostly played in the San Jose zone. That’s when a rush by Fabian Zetterlund forced Xhekaj to take a penalty. Seconds later, Celebrini identified that Tyler Toffoli was covered by Armia who had his skates pointing in the wrong direction. He delivered an unreal pass across the neutral zone and Armia was caught. Toffoli was on a breakaway where the veteran completely fooled Montembeault on a deke to tie the game.
10) With five minutes to play, the league’s most penalized team was back at it as Struble panicked and sent a puck out of play from the defensive zone to offer another advantage to the Sharks. Will Smith found Celebrini at the goal mouth only for Montembeault to make the best save of the night as he came across to rob Celebrini with an incredible glove save. This was incredibly key as on the next shift, it was Evans finding Armia on a 2-on-1 while short-handed as Armia wired home the game-winner. The Sharks pulled Georgiev with two minutes to play but were unable to mount much of an attack in the final moments.
HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars
1st Star – Josh Anderson
Anderson’s presence on the second line with Dach and Newhook was a breath of fresh air as they were easily the best line on the ice in the first two periods. Anderson’s energy and speed opened some space for his linemates and his willingness to battle for the puck was contagious as this was Newhook and Dach’s best games in some time.
Stats: even, 1 shot, 3 hits, 12:37 T.O.I.
2nd Star – Owen Beck
Twice in the first period, Beck took hits to make plays. The type of effort and willingness to sacrifice that has been missing on the team of late. He was even better in the second period as he appeared comfortable on the ice and had gotten over what appeared like an intimidated player in the games we’d seen from him so far. He even hit the post in the second period. His and his lines’ play was so good that they continued to get regular minutes throughout the third period where Beck continued to be offensively dangerous. Much more than what was offered to the Habs from the twelfth forward since Emil Heineman’s injury.
Stats: -1, 2 shots, 3 hits, 9:37 T.O.I.
3rd Star – Alex Newhook
When Laine-Dach-Newhook became a line, the juxtaposition in styles between Newhook and Laine was interesting and Newhook’s speed was utilized to give Laine some space on the ice. Teams noticed, adapted, and the line had been inefficient in recent games. The switch to Anderson gave Newhook a partner to push the pace and force the Sharks to make quick decisions. This gave all three members of the line time and space as they pushed the pace, and the Sharks couldn’t handle it. Newhook was able to get on the board and provide some much-needed secondary scoring to get the Habs out of this slump.
Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 1 shot, 3 hits, 12:56 T.O.I.
