10 Thoughts: Solid Defensive Effort as Habs Take Down Oilers
The Habs entered Monday’s contest confident after delivering their most decisive victory of the season on Saturday. To earn their second set of consecutive wins would be difficult though as Monday’s contest was against the offensively dangerous Edmonton Oilers.
The Canadiens were also looking down the barrel of an extended break with their next game being Saturday night, so there were no excuses for any poor efforts. What they delivered was a staunch defensive effort that surely didn’t wow the Bell Centre crowd but was effective as Montreal came out with a 3-0 shutout against Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers.
Canadiens Lines
Juraj Slafkovsky — Nick Suzuki — Kirby Dach
Cole Caufield – Jake Evans – Alex Newhook
Brendan Gallagher – Christian Dvorak — Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman — Lucas Condotta — Joel Armia
Kaiden Guhle – Mike Matheson
Lane Hutson — David Savard
Arber Xhekaj – Jayden Struble
Samuel Montembeault
10 Thoughts
1) The first couple of shifts looked like it would be a long night for the home side. Most of the team did not come out skating as the only players who appeared to have their legs in the opening five minutes were Hutson and, hold onto your hat, Dvorak. Hutson was his usual self and was able to dangle his way to an early Montreal man advantage. The power play looked awful but gave the Habs some life.
2) The Canadiens were guilty of the next two infractions which allowed the Oilers to dominate the period on the shot clock. The first was an Anderson interference call which saved a goal against. It was a good penalty to take. Edmonton got a ton of zone time on this advantage, but the Habs were excellent in keeping play to the perimeter. The second penalty was an Armia offensive zone high stick in the final minute. A bad penalty for a player who has made it a habit of taking such penalties. The Oilers were far more dangerous on this chance, but Montembeault stood tall.
3) For a team that gets pushed around far too often, I have to say that I really liked the physicality Montreal came out with in this first period. They were the aggressors on the physical side of things. This meant they didn’t have the puck, sure, but to assert that type of game meant that they weren’t targeted later, and I liked it.
4) Despite starting the second period shorthanded, the Habs came out strong and withstood the advantage. Immediately after the sequence, Matheson found a streaking Condotta (who had a strong game) who went in all alone and missed the net though not by much.
5) The strong start didn’t last though as Hutson got caught with a hooking penalty. The penalty was a weak call, but one that is consistently made, so more of a young player getting caught making in an inexperienced error. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins rang a shot off the crossbar to start the advantage, but the Canadiens settled down after that and offered little to the visitors. In fact, most of the second period was low-event hockey. Considering the opponent, I think that was good news for the Habs.
6) With the shots 20-10 in favour of the Oilers, the Habs decided it was time to wake up in the final five minutes of the period. This allowed them to score the game’s first goal and retreat with a lead. The goal started with a strong defensive zone play by Slafkovsky. The play in the offensive zone was completely broken until Slafkovsky again won a puck battle and appeared to send it up to Matheson at the point. I say appeared because Slafkovsky was not credited with an assist on the play. Matheson released a point shot and no one will be surprised to read that it was tipped home by Gallagher.
7) Four minutes into the third period, I have no idea how Zach Hyman did not get called for goaltender interference. Regardless, he ended up paying for it as the Oilers would score on the play and it was immediately waved off.
8) It was a strong start to the third for the Habs and Guhle made it 2-0 six minutes in. Evans and Caufield played catch throughout their zone entry which opened a lane for Guhle down the left side of the slot. That’s where he received a pass and release a fairly mundane wrist shot that Calvin Pickard really should have stopped.
9) The third period saw the Canadiens continue with excellent defensive posture. There were more strong forechecking shifts by the fourth line as Condotta and Heineman continued their strong play from the first. Montreal got a power play they did nothing with after Slafkovsky got tripped. Montembeault made a few key saves to secure the lead, too.
10) The Oilers pulled Pickard with nearly four minutes left in the game. They got one really good pressure shift where Montembeault made about three big saves to preserve the lead and his shutout. At the end of the shift, Evans dumped the puck out and saw it bounced around and line up perfectly with the net for the final dagger in this contest.
HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars
1st Star – Brendan Gallagher
Too bad Alex Ovechkin is having the season he’s having because Gallagher would truly be looked at as comeback player of the year otherwise. This is vintage Gallagher, game in and game out. Many will argue that it’s not great to have a veteran cost the team draft ranking. I will argue that at a lower salary than his current contract, having that type of veteran play driver in your bottom-six is exactly what every team requires to get over the hump come April. Gallagher finding his touch within his new role on the team is an important development for this team, whether he is kept long term of traded when the time is right. Another solid Gallagher effort on this night.
Stats: 1 goal, +1, 2 shots, 14:21 T.O.I.
2nd Star – Samuel Montembeault
I didn’t speak much about Montembeault in the thoughts because truthfully, I felt like the team played an excellent defensive game that limited the amount of quality chances Monty faced. Having said that, he made key saves when it mattered and earned a shutout, so it’s not like he goes without credit. He’s bounced back of late which is something this team was in desperate need of, now let’s just hope he sustains that level of play.
Stats: 30 saves, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 Save %, 60:00 T.O.I.
3rd Star – Juraj Slafkovsky
Was this Slafkovsky’s best game ever? No. But he battled hard, made several strong defensive plays, and put himself in a situation to be counted on when it mattered most. What I truly like is that kind of effort after everyone was talking about his (deserved) benching on Saturday. That’s the sort of gamer the Habs want to see. And for the record, I’m very okay with the benching even though guys like Armia and Dvorak get away with lesser efforts regularly. Slafkovsky is being developed into the type of player we want when it matters. The other two are mere place holders to ensure the kids are playing in the chair that is proper to their desired role, present and future.
Stats: +1, 2 shots, 1 hit, 17:20 T.O.I.