10 Thoughts – A Close Encounter in Ottawa

The Montreal Canadiens entered November riding high on their 8-3 record, and every game against divisional opponents is critical to their playoff hopes. They are likely to be in contention with the Senators at the end of the season, a rivalry that has been culminating for years and now reaches a crescendo as both squads look to establish their own divisional hegemony. Habs fans surely had anticipation as to what the dynamic of the game would be based on the antics of the preseason contests against Ottawa.

Prevailing over Ottawa, the Canadiens have both jubilation and lessons to learn from the contest. They blew the 2-0 lead, but were resilient and did not let their emotions take over the game despite the intensity and chippiness from the visitors. Montreal will need to continue to build off of this win, and beating this divisional opponent both promotes themselves and cuts at their rivals’ progress.

Starting Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Kapanen – Demidov
Bolduc – Veleno – Dach
Gallagher – Evans – Anderson

Struble – Hutson
Matheson – Dobson
Xhekaj – Carrier

Montembeault (Starting) – Dobes (Backup)

10 Thoughts

1) October Molson Cup winner Cole Caufield opened up the scoring at 12:55 after being sprung for a breakaway by Nick Suzuki. Samuel Montembeault started the sequence by making a great slot save on the Senators, and the puck was retrieved again by the attackers. The Ottawa defenders had their pass intercepted in the slot by Caufield, trickled to Suzuki back at the blue line, who was able to chip a short pass ahead of the elite scoring winger. As usual this season so far, Cole finished on his chance as his wrist shot skidded through Ullmark and across the goal line to give the Habs the lead.

2) A few minutes later, Zachary Bolduc laid a thunderous hit on Jake Sanderson, continuing the confrontations between the two teams, and Kurtis MacDermid was called for roughing in his jump attempt on the Canadiens forward. On the ensuing power play, the top unit went to work on the defenders and picked them apart after losing the opening zone faceoff. Using one of their normal zone entries, the Habs established themselves in the offensive zone with a dump-in. Ivan Demidov was able to dig the puck free and ring it to the point for Caufield, who sent it back down to the Russian as he got to his spot on the half wall, relieving pressure on the point. Caufield immediately followed up his pass by moving into the middle and taking the pass back from Demidov. With Suzuki and Slafkovsky set up on either side of the net, Cole sent the puck tape-to-tape to his captain, who completed the play with a beautiful spinning behind-the-back pass to Slafkovsky for an open cage to make it 2-0.

3) With 4:32 remaining in the first period, Veleno was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for initiating a fight against Tyler Kleven after the Senator laid a massive check on Alexandre Carrier. Veleno appeared hesitant from the start (likely avoiding the instigator in the process), and the hit continued a trend of deliberate crash-and-bang play from the visitors since the first goal. The penalty kill answered the challenge from the power play unit, getting their sticks in passing lanes, limiting shots to the perimeter, and forcing multiple turnovers. Carrier was especially noticeable, clearing the puck twice by spinning off defenders and delivering excellent reads below the goal line. Ridly Greig managed to clip Lane Hutson with a high stick at 18:57 of the first, although he certainly felt as though the Calder-winner sold the call. Upon review and discussion, the call was confirmed, and the Canadiens were able to earn numerous chances before the expiration of the period. Once more, the top unit did not lose possession outside of rebounded shots, and each perimeter player had shooting lanes to explore and attempt.

4) Opening the second period with the remainder of the man advantage, the Habs only stayed as such for half a minute. Trying to get established in the zone, Slafkovsky batted a pass into Shane Pinto’s knees at the blueline, who immediately pushed the puck forward and followed the fortuitous bounce for a half-breakaway. On the pursuit, Slafkovsky was called for holding the Senator while Demidov was able to knock the puck away before Pinto was able to get a shot on Montembeault. The ensuing penalty kill performed similarly to the first, killing plays and only giving up a single quality scoring chance on a one-timer pass from Pinto.

5) At 11:10 of the second, Alex Newhook labeled iron so hard the play had to be stopped to confirm that the red goal light had indeed been turned on in error. The preceding play, however, was indicative of the balance of five-on-five play to that point in the game. In a straightforward two-on-two attack, the Habs forwards gained the red and bluelines without contest, Newhook on the wall and Demidov down the middle. Once the zone was entered, Newhook cut in behind Demidov as the Russian took the defender and knocked his stick out of the way for Newhook to get a shot at the top corner. Three Senators defenders encircled Newhook, but none stepped up or engaged him as he walked right into the slot for his wrister. Unsurprisingly, Travis Green was featured in a close-up by the broadcast, delivering what was surely a message of reinforcement and kindness. It must have worked, as Drake Batherson cut the deficit by half at 8:07 of the second by following up on successful zone pressure from Lars Eller and Fabian Zetterlund. Only seconds earlier, Zachary Bolduc was gifted a breakaway opportunity as the Canadiens were trying to relieve the attack by a revived Senators forward group. Bolduc was not able to convert, and his missed shot allowed the Senators to jump up the ice and into Montreal’s zone. Zetterlund carried the puck over the line and down the wall, driving then straight towards the net. Batherson backed his teammate up, and was able to get a stick on the loose puck and knock it up over Montembeault’s right shoulder.

6) Carrier was rung up for tripping Nick Cousins in front of Montembeault, but the ensuing advantage only lasted for a dozen seconds before a similar play occurred to Batherson, evening the play at four-on-four. With significantly more space on the ice, high-skilled players from both teams showcased their talents. In the midst of these exchanges, Suzuki fed another breakaway pass to his team, this time Hutson, who drew a penalty shot opportunity as Tim Stutzle got his stick into Hutson’s hands. Hutson was not able to convert on the isolated chance, but the momentum began to tilt in favor of the home team for the remainder of the period.

7) Ottawa was pushing in the last minute of the period, and were rewarded as a shot from Michael Amadio was saved by the Habs netminder, but the rebound then bounced off of Matheson’s skate right back into the net like a pinball. Initially, the goal was called back on the ice for goaltender interference, but after a challenge from the Sens and a lengthy review, the call was reversed. The officials determined that Montembeault had enough time to reset his position after the contact from Claude Giroux, likely spurred by the fact that Montembeault was able to make the initial save and the deflection is what went in. With about 10 seconds left in the second, Montreal would need to gather themselves and return to dominating the play to close out the game.

8) 1:15 into the third period, Jayden Struble and Cousins settled the toll for the slash on Demidov during the preseason. The young Canadiens defenceman delivered a straight right after the clinch to put Cousins down. Both teams traded glancing possessions and chances through the first ten minutes of the final frame, but neither team was able to penetrate to the middle for high-risk opportunities. With 10 minutes remaining, the Senators began to push Montreal’s defenders again, as successive Canadiens lines were unable to break out of their own zone and were hemmed in by Ottawa’s forecheck. Through the neutral zone, the Habs lost possession and the visitors moved the puck up the ice in transition.

9) With 7:26 remaining, Stutzle put the Senators ahead with their third unanswered goal during a partial two-on-one. The German forward kept the puck to himself down through the circles, eventually backhanding the puck over Montembeault’s pad, glove, and shoulder to make it 3-2 Ottawa. Noah Dobson was caught flat-footed and puck-watching, whereas Matheson was caught chasing Stutzle and unsuccessfully harassing him down the length of the ice. Stutzle started the play by standing up Gallagher just into his own zone, and followed up on a botched pass from Anderson to initiate the turnover and transition.

10) The Canadiens scored to tie the game with 2:23 left in the third period after a valiant shift from the Demidov – Kapanen – Newhook line. Demidov played catch with Hutson in the slot as they tired the defenders out with constant cycling and passes into the paint. As they retrieved their loose pucks, the Habs changed on the fly and Matheson was able to take a puck and create space near the line as Demidov came back up top. He dropped the puck off for Demidov, who passed it along to Hutson at the top of the left circle. Demidov then crept past his defender and received the return pass from Hutson on the one-timer for his third of the year.

During overtime, Newhook intercepted a lazy pass from Batherson that drifted right into centre ice, sending him in on a breakaway. Redeeming Hutson and Bolduc, Newhook lasered his wrist shot past Ullmark to give the Canadiens the 4-3 victory at home.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Ivan Demidov – Without the play and game-tying goal of Demidov, this game would likely have been lost in the third period. His line may have struggled at five-on-five as of late, but his constant effort and tenacity have not gone unnoticed. Demidov wins the vast majority of his loose-puck battles, and tonight showed again that his body is already capable of handling NHL contact and positioning.

Stats: 1 goals, +1 rating, 4 shots, 1 hit(s), 1 BLK, 16:03 TOI

2nd Star: Alex Newhook – The game-winner underscored an excellent effort from the Canadiens winger; his speed and intensity on full display Saturday night. As Newhook’s role continues to evolve with the Canadiens, the coaching staff is continuing to rely on him in a variety of scenarios and situations. That reliance has been paying off so far this year as Newhook already has five goals playing with Demidov.

Stats: 1 goals, +2 rating, 3 shots, 1 BLK, 2 Hit(s), 16:51 TOI

3rd Star: Cole Caufield – Cole started the game on the right foot for the Canadiens, immediately setting the tone and offensive perspective. By being able to finish on the breakaway, the misses from Bolduc and Hutson were dampened, and he helped drive the play during the first half of the game.

Stats: 1 goals, 1 assist, +/- 0 rating, 3 shots, 1 BLK, 17:55 TOI