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Montreal Canadiens

Jake Evans and Rem Pitlick Shine In Loss To Senators

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2 years ago

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Jake Evans and Rem Pitlick

The Montreal Canadiens lost their fourth game of the preseason, falling 5-4 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

With training camp quickly progressing through the preseason stage, the game presented one of the last opportunities for veterans and prospects alike to raise their stock within the organization.

Jake Evans Alert

Coming off a 13-goal-season, Jake Evans won’t only serve as a perfect developmental role model for the players that are soon to return to Laval, but he will play a significant role for the Canadiens this season.

And if his play against the Senators is any indication, Evans is ready for the added responsibilities.

Evans seems to have found a new level of confidence, which, in turn, has removed a significant portion of the hesitancy he used to display from his game.

His two goals against the Senators were paired with his usual stalwart defensive play, giving credence to the fact that Jake Evans is known as the type of player that immediately earns the trust of his coach, regardless of where he’s playing.

Evans played alongside Rem Pitlick and Joel Armia, a potential line once the Canadiens open the regular season on Oct.12 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Speaking of Pitlick, the cerebral winger was all over the ice, scoring a goal and an assist in the loss, reminding us that once in a while you can find a gem on waivers.

Beck Watch

We’re not contractually obliged to mention Owen Beck in every single game recap, but it’s worth noting the 18-year-old once again had a solid outing.

He came within an eight of an inch from scoring his first preseason goal, ringing a puck off the post for the third time in as many games. A stick tap goes out to Jonathan Drouin for his excellent pass.

Prospect Pool

The front runner for the job on the blue line, Kaiden Guhle, had yet another solid outing. He didn’t jump into the play as often as he has in previous games, but that was simply because the opportunities to do so were few and far between.

Guhle did a good job using his albatross-like wingspan to neutralize opponents without taking any penalties.

Jordan Harris had a quiet, if not solid game, especially when it came to mitigating scoring chances during odd-man opportunities for the Senators.

Prime Time

Sometimes a scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, and even though he allowed five goals, Cayden Primeau didn’t just improve upon his recent performances, he put together his best game since the Canadiens opened their rookie camp on Sept.14.

It’s difficult to blame Primeau for the majority of the Senators goals. He kept his team in the game when they were being outplayed, and that’s what you want to see from your goaltender.

Primeau made 29 saves in the game, a game which was dominated by the Senators when teams were at equal strength. The 23-year-old also made a bevy of great saves on high-danger chances, including a few when the Canadiens were desperately attempting to hold onto their one-goal lead in the third period.

Primeau had looked a little sluggish in prior outings, but against the Senators, he displayed the type of agility that led the Laval Rocket to an impressive Calder Cup final run last season.

It was a very encouraging showing from the highly-touted goaltending prospect. His tracking was great, as was his positioning when the Senators had the puck in quality scoring areas, which happened quite often.

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