Tuesday night was the first Hometown Remix jersey night this season for Montreal as they fought for their sixth win in a row. Nearly all-white jerseys skated for the home team, decorated with symbolism and iconography representing one of the continent’s oldest cities.
Unfortunately for Canadiens fans watching and in attendance, it was a fun and entertaining 55 minutes before the collapse began. The Habs gave up five straight goals in under five minutes of play to lose 5-4 in overtime and allow Winnipeg to end their losing streak.
Habs Lineup
Cole Caufield — Alex Newhook — Juraj Slafkovsky
Chris Kreider – Jake Evans — Josh Anderson
Zachary Bolduc – Phillip Danault – Alexandre Texier
Owen Beck – Oliver Kapanen – Florian Xhekaj
Kaiden Guhle – Alex Carrier
Lane Hutson — Noah Dobson
Arber Xhekaj – Adam Engstrom
Jacob Fowler
Game Points
– Owen Beck got the Canadiens on the board early in the first period as the Habs dominated Winnipeg through the first minutes. Tenacious puck retrieval by Montreal’s bottom six resulted in the opening tally as both Xhekaj’s and Alexandre Texier tracked down rebounds as the Canadiens cycled the Jets’ zone and peppered Stuart Skinner. Montreal’s skaters worked the cycle through the left circle. The Xhekaj brothers completed a pretty passing play that resulted in Arber’s shot dropping in front of the net, and Florian dove to knock it back to Beck. Beck was covering Arber’s spot at the point, but once the puck reached him, he had light years of room to step up and fire a wrister past Skinner’s glove.
– Winnipeg’s top line was able to draw the first penalty from Noah Dobson for hooking. The Habs blocked passing lanes and won the only faceoff of the power play, Jake Evans and Arber Xhekaj playing key roles. Both Arber and Adam Engstrom were on the ice to finish the penalty kill, another sign of the developing trust and integration Montreal is doing with their secondary generation of prospects. Montreal would get their first power play a few minutes later courtesy of an overzealous Neal Pionk roughing Zach Bolduc behind the Jets’ net.
– Montreal’s power play struggles continued as they were unable to substantively set up in the zone beyond the final 20 seconds, and then a missed pass between Cole Caufield and Chris Kreider led to a lost possession and two wasted minutes. Kaiden Guhle was able to generate some fan excitement with a hard hit on Gabriel Vilardi as the Bell Centre sat groaning from the power play effort, and his value to the club was displayed by the ‘A’ on his jersey.
– Jacob Fowler made his first meaningful saves in the final minutes of the period as Winnipeg’s top line earned their best chances so far. The NHL’s rookie of the month for October snapped out his left pad to block a shot from Elias Salomonsson as the defenceman tried to finish off a broken play. Thanks to Fowler, Montreal would be able to transition on the next shift and double their lead. Josh Anderson put a marvelous backhand past Skinner after taking a bump pass from the wall and pivoting to the middle. He turned his body away from the net to fight off his attacker, and sent the backhand to the far side – the same spot as Beck. Kreider facilitated the goal by pressuring Viggo Bjorck along the fall, following up on Anderson’s dump-in. The puck popped right to Anderson in the middle of the ice, and the Habs went into the first intermission with a two-goal lead.
– The frustration from Winnipeg continued early in the middle frame when another pointless minor was taken by the visiting squad. Salomonsson interfered with Phillip Danault as the centre attempted to make his way to the puck on the other side of the zone, and then Morgan Barron was rung up after 30 seconds for another interference penalty. Martin St. Louis elected to take the timeout, and a rebound would get them their first power play goal in over five games. Caufield pounded the loose and bouncing puck into a half-empty net after the Canadiens passed the puck around the zone and had their first shots blocked. Eventually, Lane Hutson was able to thread a puck through to hit the net and Slafkovsky created chaos in front with Danault.
– Just as the second penalty expired, Montreal barely missed on their final chance and an outlet pass sprung Barron for a breakaway. Fowler shut the door and dropped his pad fast enough to catch the puck underneath him as Barron went to shoot low along the ice. A few shifts later, Hutson and Noah Dobson were caught flat-footed as Dawson Mercer made to split them and burst into the zone after taking a pass in stride. Hutson tripped him as they too were parallel, and Montreal went back to the kill.
– Fowler was in place for two key saves early on, two crossing passes to Mark Scheifele and Vilardi identical to Winnipeg’s chances during the Heritage Classic. The Jets broke Montreal’s scheme down again in front with a quick passing play into the slot from the goal line, but Fowler was there again to shut the door. They have excelled at the wall-to-bumper pass and have clearly identified a gap in Montreal’s coverage to enable those chances. A giveaway and failed board battle led to three more saves on top of his crease for Fowler following the power play. Fowler made another save on Kyle Connor off a faceoff set play to keep the game at a two-goal deficit as the Canadiens’ play quality dipped into the second period.
– The fourth line threw their bodies around once more during a noticeable shift that relieved pressure from Fowler and kept the puck out of the Habs zone for over a minute. Beck continued to assert himself on loose pucks and picking off passes, embodying a bottom-six role desperately needed for a Cup-hopeful Montreal team. Fowler continued to impress when he stoned Salomonsson in tight as the defender took the pass from Scheifele and skated through the circle with an open lane behind Kreider. Fowler held his ground and gave no room to move to the inside, then stopping another two shots as Winnipeg’s first line buzzed around the zone.
– Arber Xhekaj was sent to the box for an interference penalty of his own on a defensive zone faceoff. Mercer and Xhekaj lunged forward for the same space, however, Mercer went slightly behind Xhekaj and the clipping of his feet sent him to the ice and the official’s arm into the air. Another early clear for Montreal spent 30 seconds of the power play and a glove-down by Fowler killed another rush up the wall. Fowler made two glorious stretching saves, spanning the width of the crease with splits that would make most men squeamish. The Jets continued to get chances as the period came to a close, but as yet came up with nothing to solve the Habs netminder or committed defencemen; blockers of the most shots in the league.
– 15 seconds into the third period, Scheifele was called for tripping Josh Anderson five feet from Skinner’s crease. A failed centring pass from Bolduc was knocked out of the zone, but Caufield and Newhook gained the zone once more. Bolduc fired across the blueline to Caufield near the benches, who then dropped the puck to Slafkovsky and skated deep behind the Jets’ coverage. Slafkovsky, Hutson, and Newhook cycled and played catch high in the zone, finishing with Hutson and the final pass being sent to the goal line where Caufield had finally arrived. Cole saw the open space to the inside post and put his shot near Skinner’s head, startling the goaltender with a seemingly low-energy tuck.
– Arber Xhekaj and Tyrel Bauer finally connected for the fight to retain some of Winnipeg’s honour, and both combatants comported themselves well. Xhekaj held his bloodied knuckles high to meet the crowd’s adulation, a result of the two fighters standing and trading shots for more than 15 seconds. Florian joined him not too much later following a scrum with Neal Pionk that was entirely started and fueled by the younger brother at the end of a listless shift for the Jets.
– As time ebbed away in the third period, further festivities erupted that sent Florian to the dressing room after getting dropped by Adam Lowry with a straight right, and the Jets skaters looking even more dejected than after their 9th straight loss, especially after Fowler continued to give them nightmares with unbelievable stops. Danault knocked a fluttering pass out of the air to finish the first minute of the power play, and Evans threw out the loose rebound to finish off the other half.
– Bauer wrecked the shutout with just under three minutes left in the game after getting a quick pass in the slot and putting a quicker shot through a screen, only for Barron to then add a second goal on a two-on-one moments later. The Cardiac Canadiens from last season now had a significantly more stressful finish to the game than believed a minute prior, and a nervous energy descended as the chances built for Winnipeg. Skinner was pulled, and the Jets’ top players scored a third goal with 59 seconds left as Kyle Connor fired one home. Akin to their game against Pittsburgh, Montreal needed to take possession and shut the game down before the nerves erased 55 minutes of scoreless defensive play.
– Alexandre Carrier was called for tripping with just over thirty seconds left, and Connor fired a one-timer home to complete the four-goal comeback. An identical goal to the third, Dobson’s deflection flittered the puck over Fowler’s glove. In two minutes, Montreal disgracefully gave up four goals at the end of a home game. It was the latest four-goal comeback for a team in NHL history. In overtime, Winnipeg won the two crucial faceoffs after the opening that led directly to chances from Barron and Scheifele, whereas Texier and Caufield had those for Montreal after getting possessions back. The final brutal mark against for Montreal came when Hutson was stripped of the puck, and Dylan Samberg got another one-timer past Fowler to end Winnipeg’s losing streak
HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars
1st Star – Jacob Fowler
For the third year in a row, Montreal has a sensational rookie on their roster. Already in direct contention for the Calder Trophy (maybe Vezina too?!) Unfortunately for Habs fans, Fowler looked rattled after Barron’s goal went through him, and Connor’s two markers were shots he has consistently stopped over the course of his win streak. Sliding saves to the other side of the crease where he knows the shot is coming from.
Stats: 42 SV; 5 GA; .894 SV%
2nd Star – Cole Caufield
Copy and paste, right? Two goals, both on the power play. What more can a fan ask for?
Stats: 2 goals; -1; 4 shots; 17:22 T.O.I
3rd Star – Owen Beck
Montreal’s entire bottom-six lineup deserves a nod of approval for their effort on Tuesday night, at least through the first 40 minutes. Beck himself was as noticeable as he has ever been in a game this season.
Stats: 1 goal; 1 shot; 1 hit; 9:27 T.O.I