10 Thoughts: Mission Accomplished

On Wednesday, the Habs had one last chance to clinch a playoff spot as they hosted Carolina.  They struggled to bury some of their top scoring opportunities but it didn’t matter as Montreal doubled up the Hurricanes 4-2.

The Hurricanes rested several key regulars for this one, including Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jaccob Slavin among the seven getting the night off.  Meanwhile, Montreal only made one lineup change from Monday’s loss against Chicago with Emil Heineman returning to the lineup in place of Oliver Kapanen while the bottom two lines were mixed up.  The team lined up as follows:

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Anderson – Dvorak – Gallagher
Laine – Newhook – Demidov
Heineman – Evans – Armia

Matheson – Carrier
Guhle – Hutson
Struble – Savard

10 Thoughts

1) The Canadiens needed a strong start to get them settled in and, to their credit, they got it.  Less than four minutes in, Juraj Slafkovsky sent a cross-ice pass in the offensive zone to Kaiden Guhle and Guhle had plenty of time and space to get a good shot off, beating Pyotr Kochetkov to make it 1-0.  They got the good start last game as well but it’s better to be up over chasing the game.

2) But a one-goal lead isn’t enough, especially after blowing a two-goal advantage to the Blackhawks.  It’s not that Montreal didn’t have their chances.  Ivan Demidov made a nifty move to get around a Carolina defender and drove the net but fired wide.  On the next shift, Cole Caufield made a deft spin to receive a breakout pass, springing him for a breakaway.  He also fired wide.  At this point, I was thinking to myself that this was going to come back and bite them.

3) And bite them it did.  Just before the midway mark, Taylor Hall sent a weak shot toward Samuel Montembeault.  However, the shot hit Guhle, changed direction, and went in to tie the game.  That was a complete fluke but it didn’t matter as the lead had evaporated.  Going back to the theme of missed opportunities, the Habs did nothing on a power play later on in the frame while Juraj Slafkovsky whiffed while receiving a pass on a two-on-one.  Being tied after 20 minutes is far from a bad spot to be in but it also felt like a bit of a squandered opportunity.

4) Carolina came out much better at the start of the second, pressuring Montreal and hemming in their own zone.  Even without several of their top players, their system only allows them to play one way and as we’ve seen lately, the Canadiens struggle when pressured.  The Hurricanes figured that out and largely dominated the second period.

5) Missed opportunities were the theme of the first half of the second period once again.  When Kochetkov gave the Habs a power play for puck-over-glass, the top line showed no interest in shooting unless they got the perfect play.  The second wave was better but a nice passing play yielded a scoring chance but no shot on goal.  Four minutes later, Caufield rang a shot off the crossbar on a two-on-one and coming the other way, Slafkovsky was called for tripping.  Carolina’s power play was much better than Montreal’s first two opportunities but they killed it off.

6) Things started to go the way of the home side toward the end of the frame.  With under four minutes left, Slafkovsky won a board battle and the puck got to Alexandre Carrier at the point.  He went cross-ice to Suzuki who was surprisingly open.  He had time to settle, aim, and then fire one short-side past Kochetkov to restore Montreal’s lead.  It seems fitting that Suzuki, who has come up with some very timely goals since the 4 Nations break, was able to get one.

7) The cross-ice feed worked again a few minutes later.  Off a won board battle, Caufield went cross-ice to Guhle at the point who was once again open with a lot of time and space.  He was able to skate into his shot and also beat Kochetkov short-side, putting him back on the happy side of the goal column after scoring once for each side in the first.  Lane Hutson’s assist on the play gave him a share of the NHL record for most helpers by a rookie blueliner.  The period was far from a good one for the Habs who were outshot 14-5 but the two goals put them 20 minutes away from a spot in the playoffs.

8) The Habs came out much better in the third, pinning Carolina in their own end for several minutes.  Basically, the opposite of the second.  They once again had an ineffective power play and near the midway mark, Josh Anderson couldn’t bury a breakaway.  Would yet another missed chance come back to bite them?

9) It looked like it might.  With a little under six minutes left, the puck was bouncing in front of Montembeault.  It looked like he had it but it squirted free to the opposite side of the crease where Tyson Jost was there to bury it.  A minute later, Hall rang one off the bar as well which really could have changed the final few minutes of the game.

10) It would be fair to say the Canadiens employed a bend-but-not-break approach down the stretch.  The puck didn’t leave their own end too often but after icing the puck, Jake Evans took control of the puck just off the faceoff and fired it into the empty net, sealing the win and a playoff berth that few thought was possible just six months ago.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Kaiden Guhle – While I joked about him being on the happy side of the goal ledger with his second goal since Carolina’s first one went in off him, talk about an unexpected hero for this one.  In a year when goals from the back end were few and far between, getting a pair from Guhle was huge.  He certainly stepped up when they needed it.

Stats: 2 goals, even rating, 3 shots, 7 hits, 23:31 TOI

2nd Star: Nick Suzuki – While he doesn’t wind up with the game-winner, his go-ahead goal put some life back in the building while he also had a hand on the first goal as well.  He was on the ice for all four Montreal goals and with a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he delivered.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +4 rating, 3 shots, 2 blocks, 4/16 faceoffs, 21:40 TOI

3rd Star: Samuel Montembeault – With Guhle and Suzuki giving the Habs some breathing room offensively, they didn’t need Montembeault to steal the game, but rather just give them a solid one.  He delivered on that front.  The first goal was a bad bounce and the second was a bit of a weird tally as well.  When we talk about evaluation for younger players, I’m intrigued to see how Montembeault fares in his first taste of the playoffs.

Stats: 27 saves on 29 shots, 1.13 GSAX