10 Thoughts: Habs Goalied in 4-2 Loss to Blackhawks

Seeking a fourth consecutive win after excellent performances in Florida, Tampa, and Vegas, the Habs visited the league’s worst team in the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. This had all the makings of a trap game as the Canadiens were red-hot and the Blackhawks at the other extremity of the spectrum with management calling on the team to play more invested emotionally.

To make matters worse, the Habs found out moments prior to the game that they would be without David Savard (injury) and Patrik Laine (illness). The Blackhawks certainly answered management’s call, and the Habs didn’t necessarily fall into the trap in the classic terms of not showing up.

They, for the most part, got goalied here as they drastically outshot Chicago on the night. However, they were not disciplined enough to keep a very average team off the scoreboard in a 4-2 defeat. The loss is especially disheartening considering they essentially have two scheduled losses tomorrow and Monday in what can only be described as a brutal next two games scheduled in terms of travel and opponent as they face Colorado Saturday and Vancouver Monday (all different time zones). 

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Michael Pezzetta – Alex Newhook — Kirby Dach
Brendan Gallagher – Christian Dvorak– Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans — Joel Armia

Lane Hutson – Mike Matheson
Kaiden Guhle — Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – Jayden Struble 

Samuel Montembeault 

10 Thoughts

1) In a first period that was very physical and saw both teams deliver some big-time hits, Montreal kept up with the much bigger Blackhawks. For the Habs, Hutson and Caufield were clearly targeted while Anderson and Suzuki delivered some of the biggest hits in favour of the team. With the Hawks taking over the game, Xhekaj even fought Patrick Maroon and clearly got the better of the tussle to turn the tides. 

2) The Canadiens controlled the first and last three minutes of the opening period, but that was about it. They got three great chances to start the game, but on Struble’s first shift of the game, he fumbled the puck and took a slashing penalty. To make matters worse, the officials charged Xhekaj with what can only be described as a reputation tripping call as the Habs found themselves down two players for a whole two minutes. Teuvo Teravainen took advantage of the space to feed Tyler Bertuzzi for a tap-in at 5-on-3. 

3) With ninety seconds to go in the period, a zone entry by Hutson caused chaos for the Chicago zone coverage. After roaming on the perimeter for some time, Matheson found Caufield on the red line. Caufield was unchecked so he used his edges to rotate to the front of the net and tuck a little flick shot over Arvid Soderblom’s shoulder and tie the score. The Habs escaped the first period with a tie though I would not say they were the better team in the period despite shots being equal at 11. 

4) Chicago’s plan to play physically continued to be evident to start the second period and this time it worked. They were clearly the better team to open the period as some of the smaller Habs appeared to be hearing some footsteps on certain plays. At the seven-minute mark, a point shot from Wyatt Kaiser was redirected by Nick Foligno for the Blackhawks to regain the lead. Dach lost coverage on the play, but the play started with Caufield committing one too many fakes in the offensive zone. 

5) The Evans line responded to the goal and woke up the team. Montreal, within three minutes of play following the goal, had caught up to the Blackhawks in terms of shots and scoring chances in the period. The bottom six was intense and really turned momentum as Anderson and Dvorak got some scoring chances and this pushed back Chicago and gave some room to the more talented top lines who looked dangerous. 

6) The Canadiens completely dominated the rest of the period, but Soderblom was spectacular in keeping the home side on top. Montreal gained momentum and became more and more dangerous as the period wore on. Suzuki was absolutely robbed in the final moments as the Habs finished the period with a 30-19 shot advantage. 

7) Alex Vlasic took a penalty in the final moments of the second period, so the Habs started the third on the power play. However, the power play did nothing and Maroon made them pay by scoring on the following shift. Slafkovsky made things worse as he followed up the goal by coughing up the puck in his defensive zone. Luckily for him, he was bailed out by Montembeault. 

8) The Habs then finally beat Soderblom, but Vlasic was able to get to the puck behind his netminder to clear a puck that was clearly headed to the goal. Maroon then took a penalty by tripping Xhekaj to send the Canadiens back to the man advantage. This time, it was the second unit that got on the board as a point shot by Matheson was wide but came right back out to the front where Heineman batted it home to bring the Habs back to within one. 

9) Thirty seconds later, Guhle took a penalty for holding that left little doubt. The Blackhawks were cautious with their advantage and were also content to sit back on their lead once back at even strength. This allowed the Canadiens the chance to find their legs and rhythm before really attacking and trying to even the contest. For Habs fans everywhere who spent years yelling at the small Habs not to sit on a lead, the lesson here is that the strategy works better when you have a long list of huge bodies that are hard to get around as the Hawks protected the lead. 

10) Unfortunately for Montreal, it was the Blackhawks who got the last laugh as Taylor Hall and Foligno who were Chicago’s best on the night teamed up in catching the Habs cheating on offence. Vlasic initially hit the post with a shot. However, Hutson had no idea where the puck was, and Matheson was waiting for it to settle down to send it up to the forwards. Instead, Foligno got to it and chipped it in behind Montembeault to end the chance of a comeback. 

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Cole Caufield 

Caufield scored the Habs’ first goal and was dangerous throughout the second period. One of the qualities that was evident in his effort on this night is that he didn’t get sucked into wasting energy by the physical play that occurred in the first half of the game. He was responsible and involved but kept his game toward his strengths. This allowed him to be offensively dangerous all night long. That he ended the game with only one point is somewhat surprising considering his buzzing around the Chicago net throughout the game. 

Stats: 1 goal, -1, 7 shots, 19:03 T.O.I. 

2nd Star – Emil Heineman 

What a revelation this young player has been in every single facet of the game. Heineman is a force on the forecheck, rarely cheats defensively, and still has a knack for scoring important goals for this team as a rookie no less. Tonight’s goal was his tenth on the season and he’s starting to gain some traction as he was trusted by the coaching staff in the final minutes to get some ice time to try to get the Habs back into the game. 

Stats: 1 goal, -1, 5 shots, 1 hit, 11:32 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Josh Anderson 

Anderson started the game in force and continued to use his feet to generate turnovers and chances for his line. As is customary for a third- or fourth-line player, this didn’t translate to interesting statistics for Anderson, but it created space for players who should have gotten on the board, they simply couldn’t on this night. 

Stats: -1, 2 shots, 2 hits (I have no idea how they count this stat, but that seems impossible), 14:20 T.O.I.