10 Thoughts: Habs Win in Overtime vs Sharks

After two wins against Ottawa and Carolina coming off the break, Thursday’s game at the Bell Centre against the San Jose Sharks had all the makings of a trap game designed to test the maturity of the young Habs. Much like the games that followed a return to relevancy in the playoff race, the Canadiens showed throughout the night that they still lack some of that maturity as the Sharks really were the better team through the first thirty minutes of the game. Montreal took over the second half of the game but required overtime to collect their second point on an absolutely gorgeous play by Cole Caufield who collected the game-winner for the 4-3 final. 

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Patrik Laine – Owen Beck — Alex Newhook
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans – Joel Armia
Josh Anderson – Christian Dvorak — Brendan Gallagher

Lane Hutson – Jayden Struble
Mike Matheson — Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard 

Samuel Montembeault 

10 Thoughts

1) The first period was a strange look for the Habs. The defencemen lacked intensity and decisiveness with the puck. The forwards lacked respect for the Sharks and cheated offensively when in the defensive zone but then they were wildly effective on the forecheck to create some scoring chances once they were able to get out of their zone.  

2) The Sharks scored to get ahead twice in the opening period. The first goal saw Hutson appear rather soft in coverage as Will Smith delivered an excellent pass and Hutson played the puck instead of covering Fabian Zetterlund who put it home. The second goal saw Beck look foolish in coverage as his jock was sent into the second row on a zone entry that led to the Sharks restoring their lead on a goal from Nico Sturm. 

3) Credit to the Habs who refused to die in the first period as they clawed their way back to even the game on two occasions. The first goal was a direct result of excellent back pressure by Slafkovsky. Slafkovsky caused the Sharks to cough up the puck at the offensive blue line. This allowed Caufield to skate in at two-on-one and find Suzuki who made no mistake. It was Suzuki again for Montreal’s second goal. This time, in the final minutes of the period, Hutson showed his high hockey IQ when he faked a shot that created some space for Suzuki. Hutson made no mistake in his pass to the area where Suzuki was headed, and the captain had it on his stick for only a moment before he found the net. 

4) The second period was far less entertaining than the first and although the Canadiens got stronger as the period moved along, the start of the period was completely unacceptable by the home side. The only thing that kept the game in reach was a strong half-period by Montembeault who bounced back after a rather average opening frame. 

5) With only three minutes to play in the second period, Xhekaj made a very poor decision that opened the door for Smith. Xhekaj pinched after an offensive zone face-off saw San Jose complete a set play over the defender’s head. The result was a Smith odd-man rush where the young player kept the puck and rifled one home to once again restore the lead. Xhekaj found himself glued to the bench for all but one shift in the entire third period after the mistake. The coach clarified that his benching was not meant to be so long but the timing of the warranted benching and the power plays in the third period created the situation. 

6) Josh Anderson continued to play through whatever is regularly keeping him out of practices. He went back to the room for a significant portion of the second period that had many guessing if he would return. Fortunately, he was back for the third.  

7) The third period started with the Habs evening the score. Beck came in hard on a forecheck. He took a big hit, battled hard, and ended up with the puck on his stick behind the offensive net. He found Laine in the slot who whiffed on his shot, but the miss saw the puck float to Newhook’s stick who quickly tucked it in before Alexandar Georgiev could cover the angle. Back to s tie game. 

Collin Graf was playing an excellent game for the Sharks, but he got over-aggressive on Hutson seven minutes into the period as he got fooled by the Calder candidate and tripped Hutson to not lose his coverage. Montreal’s power play got some chances from Laine and Slafkovsky before the second unit really buzzed without being able to finish. 

9) San Jose was absolutely irate a few moments later after Heineman got away with one and then the Sharks were called for a hold on Anderson on the next shift. The second power play unit created a ton of momentum as the Canadiens ended regulation time with a 31-24 shot advantage but the game needed overtime. 

10) The overtime saw both teams come close on a few occasions before Caufield finally got a puck in the offensive zone and identified that Macklin Celebrini was his coverage. He opted to deke Celebrini through his legs and then put a rocket to the top corner to win the game. 

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Nick Suzuki 

The captain has come out of the break with purpose and this game was no different as his line was easily the Habs’ best on the night. It sure helps when the team’s point-per-game player suddenly finds himself a second winger able to help the play flow in their favour. 

Stats: 2 goals, 1 assist, +2, 3 shots, 1 hit, 22:07 T.O.I. 

2nd Star – Cole Caufield 

Game breakers find a way to make it happen for themselves regularly, even when the rest of the game isn’t at its best. Caufield was this player as he completed a beautiful pass to Suzuki on the team’s first goal before completing a play that will find itself on highlight reels for some time with the overtime deke and roof job to end the game. 

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 2 shots, 1 hit, 19:20 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Owen Beck 

This wasn’t Beck’s best game, but he competed on a line that needs more compete. He got some good forechecks in and was able to collect his first NHL point by taking a huge hit and still fighting through and winning his puck battle on the play. 

Stats: 1 assist, even, 2 shots, 2 hits, 11:34 T.O.I.