10 Thoughts: Habs Eliminated in 4-1 Loss

It was another night of many firsts for this young Habs team as they faced elimination in Washington. They entered the game with half of the team playing scared and the other half looking for the perfect play instead of ramping their intensity another level.

The Capitals, on the other hand, were able to focus their energy far more positively, weathered the early storm, and then played it safe as the Habs continued to shoot themselves in their feet. In the end, it was a 4-1 victory for the Capitals and a 4-1 series win in a game that was never really in doubt. The defeat means the end of the season for the Habs as the attention now turns to Laval to see if they can ride their status atop the AHL standings to results in the playoffs. 

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Brendan Gallagher – Christian Dvorak– Josh Anderson
Alex Newhook – Jake Evans — Ivan Demidov
Emil Heineman – Oliver Kapanen – Joel Armia

Mike Matheson – Alexandre Carrier
Kaiden Guhle — Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard

Jakub Dobes 

10 Thoughts

1) There was no better signal of where this series was going as watching Aliaksei Protas return while Dobes was once again the starter in the Montreal net. Add to this Logan Thompson being in full form while Carrier played scared for most of the first half of the game. Depth tested, proven for Washington while the Habs simply were unable to overcome the players they had missing.

2) The Habs came out flying as Anderson got the first big hit and Gallagher the first chance. Thompson was big early because after the first few minutes, they were leading 8-2 on the shot clock. The Habs got a power play and although it looked good, they were looking for the perfect play instead of the right now play and it hurt their chances.

3) Slafkovsky got a penalty for being aggressive near the end of the advantage. While the Canadiens got the better of the 4-on-4, Alex Ovechkin was able to get the puck as Dvorak’s stick broke on a faceoff and Ovechkin one-timed it home. 

4) The goal sent the Habs reeling as the Caps were suddenly all over them as they closed the shot gap to 8-6 before Montreal could wake up. Dobes wasn’t great early on as his loud play in his crease created crazy rebounds that I would call the root cause of the Habs’ scrambling. However, he wasn’t helped by his team either. Jakob Chychrun finally made it 2-0 before the end of the period. Caufield blew his coverage on the play, but it was two terrible plays with the puck by Kapanen that put pressure on Savard who simply wasn’t able to keep up which caused the need for said coverage. 

5) In the second period, the Habs were running around quite a bit, and it was Dobes who played the hero and allowed Montreal to remain within striking distance in the game. The Capitals were keeping the Canadiens to the perimeter as the game suddenly looked like a regular season game. The few times the Habs were able to get going, Thompson played an excellent game and pushed the Habs away. 

6) Near the end of the second period, Tom Wilson delivered a dirty hit on Suzuki behind the play, but it was the Habs’ Evans who was called for a ridiculous holding. The Canadiens were scrambling immediately, and the power play once again made them pay as Wilson was able to get the rebound and bury it as Dobes was once again so loud in his crease. 

7) The Habs started the third by swapping Evans and Suzuki to try to diversify their attack. It somewhat worked as on another sleepy shift, a terrible angle shot by Armia was tipped home by Heineman. The Habs had a small gain of energy after the goal as they started shooting and trying to create traffic, but the Caps were playing ultra-conservative and not opening at all to give the Habs many chances. 

8) With three minutes to play, the Habs pulled Dobes and got a strong shift within the Caps’ territory. As was the case for most of the game, Thompson made the big save when it mattered and the Canadiens were kept at bay to close their season as the Capitals were able to seal the victory with 26 seconds to play on a goal from Brandon Duhaime. 

9) With the season at its end, the Habs were quick to embrace David Savard who was skating his final strides as an NHL-player. A courageous warrior who surely helped the Habs mightily in their rebuilding efforts installing an excellent culture within the team that may well continue serving the team long after his retirement. 

10) When the Habs spoke about playing meaningful games down the stretch at their season opening golf tournament, many within the fan base rolled their eyes and suggested that what was best for the organization was another season at the bottom. Not only did they play meaningful games down the stretch, but they got an extra five games of information for management including a very entertaining win despite losing their starting goaltender. 

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Josh Anderson 

Hat tip to this warrior for his physicality throughout the series. He proved to be such an important piece once the playoffs started which is exactly why he brought to Montreal in the first place. 

Stats: 4 shots, 4 hits, 16:19 T.O.I. 

2nd Star – Juraj Slafkovsky 

Slafkovsky got better through the first four games in this series. He was a bit less active tonight but still completed an important number of forechecks to create offensively for his line. A big off-season awaits the young Slovak as he will finally face real competition next season to remain on the team’s top line. 

Stats: -2, 7 hits, 19:00 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Emil Heineman 

Didn’t do much but scored the last goal of the season. That counts for something.

Stats: 1 goal, +1, 2 shots, 2 hits, 7:37 T.O.I.