10 Thoughts: Penalty Kill Costs the Habs against Ottawa

After a pair of losses to Toronto, the Habs looked to kick off the final week of the preseason on a high note as they hosted Ottawa on Tuesday night.  However, the penalty kill was a problem, allowing four goals as the Sens picked up the 4-3 win.

Montreal’s Lineup

Roy – Dach – Armia
Heineman – Evans – Gallagher
Barre-Boulet – Dvorak – Kapanen
Pezzetta – Condotta – Tuch

Engstrom – Savard
Struble – Barron
Xhekaj – Mailloux

Primeau

10 Thoughts

1) It was interesting to see the change of plans.  Originally, Martin St. Louis had indicated he wanted to have close to his full lineup for the final week of the preseason.  With all due respect to the above group, that’s far from their full lineup.  Part of me can’t help but wonder if the injury to Patrik Laine might have impacted their plans somewhat.

2) It was good to see the Habs take advantage of some early neutral zone turnovers in the first half of the first period, leading to some odd-man rushes.  Montreal has played somewhat slow this preseason but they’re a team that’s most dangerous off the rush.  They didn’t do much with the rushes – Alex Barre-Boulet passed instead of shooting while a three-on-two moments later didn’t yield anything either.

3) Eventually, the Canadiens took advantage of a giveaway, this time in the offensive end.  Carter Yakemchuk turned it over with Jake Evans having time to corral it and skate into a hard wrister which beat Linus Ullmark to open up the scoring.  I don’t see Evans as being in much jeopardy of losing his roster spot (especially with Owen Beck already cut) but that tally won’t hurt his chances.

4) Late in the first, we saw some of the promise of Emil Heineman.  He took the puck wide on a rush, got around Jake Sanderson, and got off a dangerous shot while drawing a penalty.  Kirby Dach then took a late hit from Ridly Greig, giving Montreal a two-man advantage.  Heineman appeared to be the triggerman on the top unit of the five-on-three and if you’re the focal point of a power play, you’re doing something right in the coaches’ eyes.

5) After Ottawa missed on a scoring chance at the other end, the Habs took advantage.  Once again, they went with speed in the neutral zone, allowing Luke Tuch to easily gain the zone.  A quick pass set up Dach (who thankfully returned for the start of the second) and he was able to bank a weak shot off Matthew Highmore past Ullmark to double the lead.

6) After avoiding a suspension from Saturday, Arber Xhekaj was back in the thick of it again.  He put a high hit on Tim Stutzle that quickly drew the ire of Brady Tkachuk.  Originally called five and a game for checking to the head, it was changed to five and a game for interference.  The latter is likely preferable in the eyes of the league but the fact that the penalty carries an automatic hearing isn’t going to help his cause.  If you’re having two disciplinary hearings in a week, it’s probably not ending well for that player.  Stutzle, meanwhile, left the game and did not return.

7) On the ensuing power play, the Sens got on the board.  Held to only five shots in the first half of the game, Ottawa scored on the sixth.  Primeau made the stop on a shot from Yakemchuk but the rebound bounced to Michael Amadio on the far side of the crease where he made no mistake.  Then, with one minute left in the advantage, Adam Gaudette skated out uncontested to the slot and snuck one under the crossbar to tie the game.  They weren’t done there.  Seconds before it ended, Shane Pinto set up Greig right in the slot and he beat Primeau with a strong shot.  Not Montreal’s best effort shorthanded, that’s for sure.  Tuch nearly got it back but his tipped-home shot crossed the line about two-tenths of a second after the period ended.

8) The penalty killing struggles continued in the third.  After Joel Armia was called for a hook 30 seconds in, Drake Batherson set up Yakemchuk for a one-timer that beat Primeau to double Ottawa’s lead.  While the Habs didn’t have their ‘A’ lineup in this one, they had quite a few regulars on the penalty kill which has to be a little concerning for the coaching staff.

9) Going back to the first period for a moment, the Habs wasted little time trying to exact some revenge on Greig.  Michael Pezzetta chased him down while Jayden Struble nailed him with a hard (and late) hit.  That theme continued into the second before coming to a head in the third.  Dach took a slashing penalty on Greig, nullifying a power play in the process (which probably wasn’t all that bad given the power play’s struggles).  Then, the two fought, getting 15 minutes apiece on the process, ending their respective nights early.

10) After the Habs successfully challenged a Sanderson one-timer goal (one that Primeau bit too hard on the pass on) for offside, they got one back a few minutes later.  Joshua Roy’s initial shot in close was stopped but Oliver Kapanen was there to lift the rebound home.  Evans nearly tied it with 80 seconds left, redirecting an Armia pass but Ullmark made a key stop.  That’s as close as they could get as they dropped a game in which they played quite well overall at five-on-five but special teams did them in.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Joshua Roy – I was waiting for a game like this from him.  While many expected him to make the team coming into camp, he had a quiet first couple of outings and needed a strong showing to cement his spot.  This was that game.  He showed some offensive creativity which could garner him consideration for the top six and made a good play to lead to Kapanen’s goal in the third.

Stats: 1 assist, +1 rating, 3 shots (8 attempts, game-high), 17:57 TOI

2nd Star: Kirby Dach – This was an eventful game for Dach, to put it lightly.  An injury, a goal, a fight…not quite a Gordie Howe hat trick but that’s still a bit of a unique combo.  Dach looked involved, engaged, and played with an edge.  This looked like the Dach of last preseason and that’s a good sign for me.

Stats: 1 goal, +1 rating, 17 PIMS, 6 shots, 5/12 faceoffs, 14:15 TOI

3rd Star: Jayden Struble – Statistically speaking, he didn’t do a whole lot.  But that’s not a big concern for me in a game like this.  He looked stable at five-on-five and for someone trying to secure a full-time spot in the lineup, stable is what’s going to give him an edge over some of the other players aiming for a spot on the third pairing.  He also brought some snarl to the table which will help his cause as well.

Stats: 0 points, even rating, 2 shots, 5 hits, 21:52 TOI