10 Thoughts – Bouncing Back in Pittsburgh

Following their dismantling at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens had some new faces on their roster to show off in Pittsburgh. Jacob Fowler made his NHL debut to much fanfare, while Owen Beck and Adam Engstrom were recalled to fill in for Arber Xhekaj and Jake Evans. Montreal’s lineup was consequently stuffed into a blender and did not even finish the evening in the same spots. Zach Bolduc was eventually shuffled again for Juraj Slafkovsky on the top line, another clear sign the head coach is not satisfied with the chemistry.

Montreal’s win was a team win, despite some warts in their game in the form of undisciplined penalties and coverage losses. This time, the Habs had a goaltender who was there to cover the gaps with timely saves. The 4-2 game was mostly controlled by the Canadiens in terms of pace and possession, although Pittsburgh was able to turn them around in their own zone on multiple occasions. Without the stalwart play of their top four defence and green netminder, this could have been a higher-scoring affair. Then again, without scoring goals, you cannot win at hockey. Montreal responded well to their drubbing on Tuesday and should have good energy to take into the weekend.

Habs Starting Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Bolduc
Slafkovsky – Kapanen – Demidov
Texier – Beck – Anderson
Davidson – Veleno – Gallagher

Matheson – Carrier
Dobson – Hutson
Struble – Engstrom

Fowler
Montembeault

10 Thoughts

1) Habs fans were eagerly looking to witness how the team would respond to another horrendous loss at home, especially with their prized goaltender prospect making his NHL debut ahead of schedule. Thankfully for those fans, Montreal was able to get on the board before he even faced his first shot. Alexandre Texier took advantage of a whiffed pass by Kris Letang along the wall inside the Penguins’ zone. The veteran defender’s stick barely touched the puck, drifting it towards the middle and right onto a back-checking Texier’s stick. Montreal’s newest addition took a few strides and then ripped his shot past Tristan Jarry’s glove to the top corner.

2) Following the first ice-scraping break, Alexandre Carrier committed a holding penalty against Penguins forward Justin Brazeau as he was attempting to bypass Carrier into the Habs’ zone. Thrown into the fire with Sidney Crosby at the other end of the zone, Fowler stood tall on the two shots Pittsburgh was able to earn during the power play and likely inspiring a sign of relief in all Canadiens management that the first shot did not go in. The penalty kill maintained its solid play even without Kaiden Guhle and Evans. Montreal’s forwards closed off the passes across the bottom of the zone, and the visitors brought the momentum back their way when Matheson blew the zone and Carrier exited the box for a two-on-one. Matheson, however, was not able to beat Jarry above his shoulder.

3) Ivan Demidov took a nasty spill into the boards midway through the first period after his skates clipped Danton Heinen’s on the way to the Habs’ corner. His shoulder seemed to make principal contact with the boards, and while down, the Pittsburgh player fell across the crest of his helmet. Demidov slowly made his way to the bench, but seemed no worse for wear on the next shift. In the same few minutes, Fowler made his first significant saves on both Crosby and Erik Karlsson when the Penguins pushed into the Habs zone with offence. He stuck to his posts well and handled plenty of bouncing pucks with a sure glove.

4) Justin Brazeau was called for holding Jayden Struble at 13:48 on the first. The two players were along the wall by the penalty boxes in the neutral zone, and Brazeau did not allow Struble to move past him. Montreal was not able to generate any cohesive zone entries during their power play, both due to the strength of the Penguins’ structure as well as a disjointedness in their approach to entering the zone. The Habs got their legs moving to close out the initial frame, dominating possession and playing a little five-on-five power play formation in the final 30 seconds of the first.

5) Montreal maintained their posture of possession and pursuit into the second period and were rewarded with some bottom-six offence. Brendan Gallagher scored his second of the season when Lane Hutson broke into the zone on one of his patented rushes, curled up at the corner, and sent the puck across the width of the Penguins’ ice. Gallagher’s wrister beat Jarry over his right shoulder this time, without screening and from a fair distance.

6) After 4:58 expired in the second, Noah Dobson slashed Rutger McGroarty’s left wrist as he tried to send a cross-crease pass to Ben Kindel. Although Fowler was there tracking the puck, it slipped under Kindel’s stick before he was able to get a shot off. Montreal was able to fight off the best-ranked power play in the league, but they certainly had to fight, fight, fight. The Canadiens kept their feet moving over the next few minutes and were able to draw another call thanks to Adam Engstrom; Ville Koivunen received the two minutes for tripping.

7) Cole Caufield scored on the bank-shot during the power play after Montreal spent the preceding 30 seconds working the puck along the outside perimeter of the defenders. Hutson, Suzuki, and Caufield played catch, looking for penetration into the middle, when Caufield took a liberty with Jarry’s stance and sent a quick ice-bearing shot into the crease and expertly deflecting into the back of the net. Now up 3-0, Jared Davidson elected to take a holding call against Sidney Crosby through the middle of the ice. Fowler’s best saves so far in the contest came during the penalty kills, as he calmly and concisely closed the door on high-slot Crosby tips, clean shots from Karlsson and Danton Heinen, and floaters from Karlsson.

8) Montreal began to tilt the ice on Jarry and the Penguins in the latter half of the second, culminating in numerous chances and a controversial overturned goal for Owen Beck. Montreal’s forwards were entering the zone in alignment, Beck down the middle and Anderson opposite the puck carrier. Texier sent his pass into the middle of the zone, giving Beck the opening to intercept and send another wrist shot into the third new corner of the game past Jarry. Anderson was also standing right next to the linesman when he allegedly entered the zone offside ahead of the puck, and the official had signaled the play was clean. Pittsburgh successfully challenged for offside to take the goal off the board after a long review.  Montreal remained up 3-0 after scoring twice in the second, and the push at the end of the period from Pittsburgh reinforced the need for tight play and no brash mistakes to finish the game.

9) Less than a minute into the third, Fowler was finally beaten. Despite an early steal from Caufield, the Penguins were able to regain possession and establish themselves in the zone. Thomas Novak rotated the puck around the perimeter of the zone, drawing the defenders out of position and creating a seam pass option to the front of the net. Crosby took the pass on his forehand and bumped it immediately back to Bryan Rust, who was waiting on the back door to spoil Fowler’s night. Montreal answered right back with Kapanen’s 10th score at 19:01. Slafkovsky dished the puck to Kapanen on the weak post after carrying the puck and his defender past the bottom of the circles.

10) Heinen got called for “slashing” Engstrom’s hands as he passed the puck to his partner. Montreal experienced familiar zone-entry difficulties as earlier in the game, and struggled to sustain offense before losing their opportunity. Demidov was next rung up for hooking into Ryan Shea’s hands as he lost the puck in the Penguins’ corner during the power play. As innocuous as Heinen’s call, the striped civilians made their best attempt to get involved in a quality hockey game. Montreal’s defenders were able to hold strong in their formation. Anderson blocked two shots, Matheson cut of passing lanes, and then Carrier decided to express his emotions via his fists into the face of Kindel, putting the Habs down by two for the next 30 seconds and extending the kill. Once more, the goaltender was the best player for the Canadiens, perfectly in position and square to each puck coming into the net area.

Rutger McGroarty was able to beat Engstrom to the outside as he entered the zone, forcing the young defender into taking a holding call to slow him up on the way to a two-on-one with a little more than five minutes left. The penalty ended up costing them as Karlsson was able to cash in on Fowler with a long-range wrister. With Anthony Mantha screening him. Fowler did not slide far enough and could not see the height of the shot coming in on the far side of the net. Even after this goal, Fowler played unperturbed and secured the victory for the Canadiens with a few more clutch saves on Crosby and Rust.

HW Habs Three Stars

First Star – Jacob Fowler

Is Jacob Fowler the goaltender of the future for le CH? Everyone certainly seems to think so, and if a single game is any indication (it’s not really), good things are to come for Montreal in net. Undoubtedly Montreal’s best player on the ice tonight, his evident relief following the final buzzer is also indicative of the engagement the club can be sure its young prospect has. He was calm in the net and did not overplay loose pucks. His rebound control was flawless and he took very little contact. Habs fans should be as excited as they likely are, but perhaps a mite more patient.

Stats: 1st Career NHL Win; 36 SV; 2 GA; .947 SV%

Second Star – Lane Hutson

Lane Hutson is growing into the energizer battery pack that Brendan Gallagher has been for the past series of years. At 3-0, he was all downhill skating and crashing the net. This practice drags his teammates into the rabid intensity of the game, a quality that their leader Nick Suzuki does not allow to bleed into his own game until the playoffs. Without it, perhaps Montreal gets caught unawares for chains of goals that can turn the tide of a game, as seen in Winnipeg and by St. Louis. Near the end of the game, Hutson repeated his street-hockey goalie performance by stopping Rust with his open glove hand on an open net as Fowler was caught going side-to-side.

Stats: 2 assist(s); +3 rating; 2 shots; 4 blocks; 22:15 TOI

Third Star – Mike Matheson

Unrewarded on the scoresheet – though not from lack of trying – Matheson played an outstanding game in his defence and maturity. He was out in the primary position for each penalty kill and blocked some very dangerous shots. He was both stabilizing and inspiring along the blue line tonight, once more proving his worth and showing another team that cast him away what they had lost. He is likely precisely what Pittsburgh could use, right now.

Stats: -1 rating; 2 shot(s); 5 block(s); 25:47 TOI