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Carey Price was honoured Tuesday night as the Habs clashed with the Minnesota Wild. Price, an icon for a generation of young Canadian goaltenders, backstopped dismal Montreal teams to multiple playoff berths and the intrepid 2021 Stanley Cup Final that would eventually be the effective end of three careers: Shea Weber, Paul Byron, and Price himself. The 62nd Canadiens player to become a member of the Hall of Fame was serenaded by a chanting Bell Centre as he was entered into their Ring of Honour, and wore his emotions outwardly during his speech. Minutes went by as the crowd rained their love and appreciation down onto the ice, announcements overridden by sheer volume.

Juraj Slafkovsky played in his 300th game lined up against arguably the best top line in hockey: Kaprizov – Eriksson Ek – Boldy. He had moments of note, but was not able to break out in a meaningful way as the entire team skated through the sludge of a defensive and heavy Minnesota squad. Despite these strengths, their best was their offensive firepower, and Jacob Fowler was peppered with dangerous chances several times over the course of the game, which extended to overtime thanks to a late Suzuki tying goal. A questionable slashing call on Cole Caufield led to a power play in overtime and an organized winner by the Wild that left a bitter taste in the mouth of Canadiens fans looking for a win to honour Carey.

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Chris Kreider – Jake Evans — Josh Anderson
Zachary Bolduc – Phillip Danault – Alexandre Texier
Alex Newhook – Oliver Kapanen – Kirby Dach

Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier
Lane Hutson — Noah Dobson
Adam Engstrom – Arber Xhekaj

Jacob Fowler

Game Points

– A sleepy start is common for Habs fans to see from their team whenever a lengthy ceremony takes place prior to a home game. Veteran viewers are familiar with the passion and energy of the building, but also the potential for a letdown as the visitors strive to empty the air out as quickly as possible with an early goal. Within the first two minutes, usually. Tuesday night was different in that Montreal kept themselves from being scored on, but the chances against were still there. Minnesota’s forwards were heavy on the forecheck and along the wall, trusting their clear size advantage to punish the Canadiens defenders as they tried to clear the puck. In the open ice, Montreal was able to more readily skate with the Wild, but they consistently lost battles early in the first.

– Montreal drew the first penalty of the game when Adam Engstrom was tripped by the stick of Ryan Hartman. Both reached for a puck headed through the Habs zone, and Engstrom had his feet hooked when he turned. An energized top unit led to three direct looks at the net for Nick Suzuki, Zach Bolduc, and Juraj Slafkovsky had a power move to the net that was chopped down by Jonas Brodin before he closed his blade and tucked the puck on the far side. The positive momentum appeared to count for something in the officials’ mind, Alex Newhook earning a double-doink off the post that fooled Kelly Sutherland into thinking there was a goal. A quick review elucidated the crowd, and despite the single documented shot on net the game felt well balanced as a result of the power play.

– Jacob Fowler was on point for two pristine point-blank chances during the several closing minutes of the first period, a wide-open chance by Danila Yurov and a hard rebound by Matt Boldy. With just over three minutes left, Fowler stretched out his left pad to stop Michael McCarron’s shot as the forward pivoted around a pile of bodies in the slot. Lane Hutson nearly gave the Canadiens the lead with a highlight reel net drive, then drew a penalty to close the first courtesy of Nick Foligno’s glove in his face. The officials would even play to four-on-four at the start of the second period, issuing opposing roughing minors to Foligno and Josh Anderson, the latter for his defence of Hutson.

– Nothing came of the two minutes of extra ice, however, the Wild continued their torrid pursuit of Montreal’s defencemen and tired clearing attempts into the neutral zone. Xhekaj and Engstrom spent over two minutes with Kirby Dach trying to relieve the pressure of Minnesota’s bottom six, but they weathered the storm enough for Suzuki to draw the next penalty. Suzuki was able to win the opening faceoff, and Hutson went straight down the middle of the ice before faking his shot and handing off for Cole Caufield’s one-timer. McCarron laid out and blocked the gaping empty net, and Noah Dobson’s shot on the next shift suffered a similar fate.

– Just as Minnesota dominated dangerous chances in the first, Montreal outpaced the Wild through the first half of the second period. Both Canadiens power plays felt just a half-second too slow in an inspiring way, and they kept possession away from the Wild for extended periods throughout the middle frame. Near the seven-minute mark, a burst of speed from Maxim Shabanov gave Minnesota their first chance in minutes but he was unable to get his breakaway shot clean on net. Fowler was there for the net-front rebound as the forward threw the puck back at the net after trailing into the corner. The Wild won the following draw and kept possession in the zone, forcing another Fowler pad save to kick the puck away.

– Kirby Dach would take a senseless offensive zone holding call after he clearly lost body position while grinding along the boards with Newhook. Sutherland was looking right at the play, and every fan in that section saw the penalty coming as Dach bear-hugged his man with his free arm then splayed his own legs. A won faceoff earned the Habs’ killers an early clear, however, their play along the blueline would buy them even more by fighting off zone entries and eventually the top unit itself. Blake Coleman would get his stick on Fowler’s mask for the second time in the game as well, a swipe across the cheek instead of the chin on this exchange. The penalty kill eventually finished off the man advantage, and time ticked away in the second as both teams exchanged rush chances and neutral zone giveaways. Not moments before the buzzer, the Wild nearly snuck in a puck behind Fowler on a broken play resulting from another Habs giveaway.

– Kaiden Guhle got the final frame started with a thunderous hit on Joel Eriksson Ek along the boards as the Canadiens skated downhill with over two minutes of zone time and several shot attempts. As the Wild flipped the puck out of the zone, an incoming Anderson tried to keep the puck in the vicinity, but was stripped by Bobby Brink who would go streaking in alone on Fowler. Two stickhandles and a quick wrister to the glove side would prove to be the icebreaker, cries of despair resounding amid the sellout crowd.

– A few minutes later, despite their attempts to even the score, Anderson would be called for a hooking call as he got his stick into the hands of Shabanov in front of the net. A crucial penalty kill in order to hope to have a reasonable chance at competing, the Habs capitalized on poor puck play and passing choices by the Wild to keep the puck to the perimeter or out of the zone for the majority of the two-minute infraction. Guhle, Alexandre Carrier and Phillip Danault dominated their coverage and closed out the power play as well as the first half of the third period.

– Similar to the sequence preceding Brink’s tally, Montreal spent an extended period cycling the puck around the Wild zone after the TV timeout and power play against. Alexandre Texier and Dach’s line were able to wear out the Wild defenders by transitioning high in the zone, then feeding the rebound back to the point. Every time Hutson was in the offensive zone, he made Minnesota skaters pay for their aggressive defending of him, and he was in their zone a lot. Montreal fought back over the final five minutes but struggled to drive play for the equalizer, Minnesota having enough legs to chase down dump-ins.

– Fowler was pulled with just under two minutes left, and a loose puck was shoved through Jesper Wallstedt’s sprawling glove. The extra player was Texier hopping onto the ice, and he would be the one to creep beneath the goal line to get the loose puck squirting out of the scrum. Texier passed to Hutson right in the slot, whose shot rebounded back to Caufield at the side of the net. Caufield tried to tuck it past the near post,  but the puck rode up the post and bounced off Wallstedt, dribbling behind him and in Suzuki’s way to the net. The captain jammed the puck in and brought the Habs even with Minnesota.

– With 56.1 seconds left in the game, Caufield was called for slashing Quinn Hughes’ stick because it broke. The overhand hack led to upturned palms from the Wild players and eye-rolls from Canadiens’ skaters as the entire building shared their disdain towards official Justin Kea, responsible for both calls against the home team. Both calls made from the far position, coincidentally, despite the highly decorated and experienced Kelly Sutherland staring directly at the play and not making the call.

– Overtime!

– Overtime lasted all of 21 seconds before a tic-tac-toe passing play through the slot twice led to a Kaprizov hammer past Fowler. Evans shattered his stick on the crossbar, and Fowler skated off in disgust as the boos serenaded the team off the ice. Montreal’s point streak, however, was indeed retained.

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Lane Hutson

Hutson surely knew who was skating on the opposite blueline and planned to show up and show out as much as possible. He danced on the ice and had numerous high-danger chances to beat Wallstedt, opportunities he likely will score on as the years go by and his body continues to mature. As for tonight, he was busier and better than Hughes, serving as the direct contributor and facilitator of Montreal’s offensive drives.

Stats: 1 assist; 6 shots; 26:47 T.O.I

2nd Star – Jacob Fowler

Without young Fowler’s efforts through the first two periods, this game may have gotten out of the Canadiens’ reach much earlier. He kept them in the game through their lapses and was beaten once a breakaway and then later by the league’s most efficient goal scorer. Wallstedt just made one more save, but he himself was in Fowler’s position a few short years ago.

Stats: 22 SV; .917 SV%, 2 GA

3rd Star – Kaiden Guhle (and Alexandre Carrier)

Despite the loss, Guhle’s presence and boxing-out abilities are always noticeable. Especially prevalent when absent from the lineup, Guhle serves as a premier rush defender for the Canadiens and ends far more plays than he allows through his coverage on the ice.

Stats: 1 shot; 1 block; 2 hits; 22:17 T.O.I