10 Thoughts: Minimal Offence as Habs Fall to Utah

After a rough loss to Vegas on Saturday, the Habs looked to end their home stand on a high note against Utah on Tuesday.  They had the lead briefly in the third but couldn’t hold it, falling 3-2 in overtime.

Martin St. Louis had a planned lineup change for this one and an unplanned change.  With Joshua Roy coming up for Lucas Condotta, there were mostly new forward lines in place as planned.  But what wasn’t planned was the team announcing a little before game time that Mike Matheson wouldn’t play due to a lower-body injury.  Jayden Struble was supposed to sit with Justin Barron coming back in but with Matheson’s absence, Struble suited up as well.  The team lined up as follows:

Caufield – Suzuki – Newhook
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher
Heineman – Evans – Roy
Slafkovsky – Dach – Armia

Hutson – Guhle
Xhekaj – Savard
Struble – Barron

10 Thoughts

1) Things were looking up early for the Habs.  They got a power play in the opening minute and while they didn’t score, they had a couple of good looks and a lot of offensive zone time.  Montreal then followed that up with a few good shifts at five-on-five, capped when Karel Vejmelka made a sliding save on a Cole Caufield one-timer.

2) However, that momentum was short-lived.  Arber Xhekaj took an unnecessary interference penalty with a little under eight minutes remaining as Utah was starting to put together some good shifts of their own and while the Canadiens were able to kill it off, they were on their heels for the rest of the period.  That’s a couple of games in a row with not a great penalty from Xhekaj which has been something the coaches have been on him about several times before.

3) The rest of the first included two more penalty kills, a Jake Evans interference call and Roy for delay of game.  Full marks to the penalty kill, specifically Joel Armia who orchestrated a nice game of keep-away on the latter penalty.  That’s something I’d like to see Montreal try more often when they get control of the puck rather than the typical dump-and-change.  When done properly, they can kill a good 20-30 seconds.

4) Early in the second period, Jake Evans had a prime scoring chance off a Utah turnover.  But he looked to be more fixated on looking for the pass than the right shooting lane as he wound up skating past the prime shooting slot and missing the net entirely.  I get that he’s a checker on this team but he’s playing higher in the lineup than his usual role.  That means they need some offence from him and not just on the playmaking side.  It’s okay to shoot the puck and he needs to realize that.

5) Eventually, Montreal’s penalty trouble came back to bite them.  After Alex Newhook was called for a hold (on a play that it could have been argued that there was a missed icing call), Christian Dvorak got the first prime chance but rang his shot off the post.  While the Habs killed it off, as Newhook was hustling back into the play, Clayton Keller set up Dylan Guenther for a one-timer that beat Samuel Montembeault.  When you’re shorthanded that often that early, it’s bound to cost you in the end.

6) Fortunately for the Canadiens, they got that one back relatively quickly from an unexpected source no less.  Less than two minutes after Guenther’s goal, Caufield set up Jayden Struble who was able to roof a point shot past a screened Vejmelka.  This feels like a good time to mention again that Struble – who scored against Vegas – wasn’t even supposed to be in this game.  (It’s the second time in a row he was a planned scratch but played due to someone else’s injury.)

7) At a time when the Habs are back to scuffling offensively, it seems like a good place to start is getting shots on net through.  In the first period, Montreal had five and in the second, only three; they finished with just 13 overall.  The Canadiens came into the night barely averaging 24 shots a game which is way too low.  This is something they need to clean up sooner than later.

8) Alex Newhook didn’t exactly earn a promotion in the lineup but he made the most of it.  He was first out on the first line change of the third and went right to the net.  Dvorak sent one out from behind the net into Vejmelka’s feet; the netminder flubbed it and Newhook buried the rebound.  Not sure that’s going to do much in terms of confidence but it was good to see him rewarded for getting to the front of the net.

9) With Matheson out of the lineup, Lane Hutson was going to be asked to take on even more of the workload.  For the most part, he did well, but one of his mistakes proved costly.  After Kirby Dach missed the net on a shot, Hutson overskated the puck at the blueline, sending Utah in on an odd-man rush.  Logan Cooley sent a cross-ice feed to Jack McBain and four minutes after the Habs took the lead, it was a tie game again.  It would be fair to say that neither side was particularly aggressive the rest of the way; both sides seemed content to play for overtime.

10) Even the overtime itself wasn’t particularly eventful.  There was a lot of skating but not a lot of shots or even shot attempts.  But in the final minute, Schmaltz had the puck at the top of the blueline and skated right while Mikhail Sergachev snuck in behind Evans on the left.  The quick pass went across and the former Hab buried the winner.  It’s not that Montreal played terribly in this game but it’s hard to say they deserved a better fate either.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Christian Dvorak – I know he’ll largely be remembered for the post on the penalty kill in the second period but this was an efficient and effective outing from the veteran.  Good on the PK, good on the draw, and better than usual in the offensive zone.  Nothing flashy but an effective outing nonetheless.

Stats: 1 assist, +1 rating, 2 shots, 2 blocks, 8/11 faceoffs, 14:29 TOI

2nd Star: Cole Caufield – There wasn’t much in the way of dangerous offensive play from the Habs in this one but of the little bit they had, Caufield was the most dangerous and one of their more consistent players.  He helped set up Struble’s tally and had a shoot-first mentality which stood out in a game where few Habs did.

Stats: 1 assist, +1 rating, 3 shots, 18:38 TOI

3rd Star: Jayden Struble – For a game he wasn’t supposed to play in, Struble had a pretty solid outing.  The goal was one thing but defensively, he was steady and Utah didn’t get a lot going when he was on the ice.  I don’t think he deserves to come out of the lineup when Matheson returns but I don’t think Justin Barron deserves to either as he had a decent game considering how little he has played lately.

Stats: 1 goal, even rating, 1 shot, 2 takeaways, 3 blocks, 17:11 TOI