Connect with us

Canadiens Postgame

Canadiens Silver Lining Re-Emerges In Hard-Fought Loss

Published

1 month ago

on

montreal canadiens edmonton oilers

The Montreal Canadiens were in Edmonton on Tuesday to face Connor McDavid and the high-flying Oilers.

The Habs won’t qualify for the playoffs this season, but as we all know, there’s always pride on the line.

That pride came to the forefront versus the Oilers, as the Canadiens once again did a very good job controlling the momentum in a game versus a Stanley Cup contender.

Montreal ended up losing 3-2 while on the penalty kill in overtime, but they can be proud of their effort given the circumstances.

Let’s dive into those highlights!

Staged Match

Tempers flared early following a clean hit by Michael Pezzetta on Sam Carrick.

As we all know, Pezzetta can’t refuse a fight. It’s simply not something he’s able to do. I’m fairly certainbare-knuckle-boxe-knuckle box, Thanos.

This time around, Carrick got the best of Pezzetta. Full marks to the linesman for ensuring Pezzetta did not slam his helmetless head on the ice.

Anyone But Him

You can’t stop McDavid, but you can slow him down to a certain extent, at least relatively speaking.

But the Canadiens went the other way on Tuesday by setting McDavid up with a rather easy goal. A questionable breakout by Mike Matheson led to a difficult pass reception by Josh Anderson, which gave McDavid all the time and space he needed to open the scoring.

You’ll note Anderson’s stick blade is facing the goaltender once the puck reaches him, which means he had no choice but to re-adjust if he had any hope of hitting Jake Evans for a breakaway.

It’s easy to blame Anderson for all the Canadiens’ issues, and I understand that he’s not the most popular player on the team, but there was very little he could do with that dangerous breakout pass by Matheson, especially with Mattias Ekholm and McDavid lurking nearby.

Now, to be perfectly fair, Anderson did lose the puck earlier in the shift, and that led to the pressure in the defensive zone to begin with.

 

The Oilers scored their second goal of the game with a little over five minutes left to play in the second period.

Now, it would be easy to criticize the man-to-man coverage on this play, but we also have to acknowledge the Canadiens did a very good job holding the high-flying Oilers at bay up until that point.

That’s the risk with playing man-to-man. One failed assignment and the entire system breaks down spectacularly.

Here Come The Pretzels!

Despite trailing by two goals as the puck dropped for the third period, the Canadiens were clearly the better team. They held a healthy advantage in shots and scoring chances, yet another sign that the Habs’ process is improving, slowly yet surely.

But a strong process isn’t enough to guarantee a win in the NHL. You need talent, and no one expects the Canadiens to match a team like Edmonton when it comes to superstars.

Fortunately for the Habs, Juraj Slafkovsky banked a pass off Nick Suzuki’s skate(s) to cut the lead to just one goal within the first minute of the third period.

You could say it was luck, and there’s certainly merit to that argument, but you could also suggest that the Habs simply ate a little fruit of their labour.

The goal re-invigorated the Canadiens, who quickly tied the game thanks to Kaiden Guhle’s fifth goal of the season.

Martin St-Louis was not behind the bench on Tuesday as he’s dealing with a family matter, but he’ll surely be happy to hear about the play, which involved a smart pinch by a defenceman, as well as a goal off the rush. That’s the Martin St-Louis special.

Beyond Guhle’s nice goal, we also have to point out that both Jordan Harris and Evans delivered perfect passes that forced the Oilers to play catch up.

 

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday. They will face the Canucks in Vancouver, with the puck drop scheduled for 10 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens stats are 5v5 unless otherwise noted. Via Natural Stat Trick.

Related Topics: