Canadiens Postgame

Canadiens Instant Recap: Crosby Loves Playing Against The Habs

Published

1 month ago

November 2, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens were in Pittsburgh on Saturday to face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

Prior to puck drop, head coach Martin St-Louis decided to switch up his lines once again. He returned to a familiar combination, which features Josh Anderson on the top line with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, while Juraj Slafkovsky played on the second line with Kirby Dach as his anchor.

With all due respect to Anderson, who has clearly given an honest effort since the start of the season, we know this is not a long-term solution when it comes to spreading the talent throughout the lineup. In fact, it’s not even a short-term solution based on the evidence we have from the last few times St-Louis attempted to shoehorn No.17 onto the top line.

Shockingly, it didn’t work out, and by the third period Kirby Dach was back to playing with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line.

The Canadiens did provide an honest effort on Saturday, which was a nice change of pace, but the Penguins emerged with a 3-1 win.

Let’s get to those highlights!

The Kid

We usually focus on the Montreal Canadiens in these instant recaps, but once in a while we’ll shift our attention to a special player, which means it’s time to discuss Sidney Crosby’s excellence. His first-period goal was a good reminder that he loves to play against the Habs, tallying 24 goals and 41 assists in 51 career games, comfortably over a point-per-game.

Of course, he’s no longer in his prime, and there are a handful of NHL superstars that have taken over as the most dominant players in the league, but we are very lucky to have witnessed Crosby and Alex Ovechkin ply their trade for the better part of two decades. I don’t think there should be a debate when it comes to discussing whether they’re among the best of all-time, though, because we don’t need to consider anything in this case.

They are among the best of all-time, full stop.

For the record, Saturday marked the 120th time both Ovechkin and Crosby scored on the same night. Incredible.

SID IS SIZZLIN’ 🔥

Crosby has six points (3G-3A) over his last three games. pic.twitter.com/GG6wxJMrId

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 2, 2024

Crosby would go on to score a second goal, once again confirming that he loves to play against the Canadiens. It was a powerplay goal, and it was far from his best shot, but it did show how he’s evolved over the years. A quick release can be deadly, just ask Mario Lemieux. And when the legs no longer move as fast as they used to, you have to compensate by modifying your game, as Crosby has done in the last few years.

Crosby: 2
Montreal: 0 pic.twitter.com/TEbptEkRxL

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 3, 2024

Nature Is Beautiful

One of the most discussed players this year is centre Christian Dvorak, and while I usually try to find silver linings when some players struggle, they’ve been few and far between for the former Coyotes player.

And saying he’s a scapegoat isn’t particularly accurate, as he has certainly failed to meet expectations. But we have to remember, this team has bigger issues than Dvorak, who is on an expiring contract.

With that in mind, he stood out on Saturday by scoring the Canadiens’ opening goal. It took two shots, but you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Full marks to Emil Heineman for keeping the puck in the offensive zone with a honey badger-like effort on the forecheck.

We will go ahead and ignore the not-so-subtle interference by Juraj Slafkovsky prior to the goal.

Great work by Heineman to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Dvorak gets 2 chances and buries the second shot. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/UjJy3CW7X4

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 3, 2024

When It Rains

David Savard had a difficult game, and to make matters worse, he accidentally hit forward Alex Newhook in the head late in the third period. It was a night to forget for No.58.

It was Savard who accidentally hit Newhook in the head. He looked shook up heading to the bench. pic.twitter.com/9LAtHyClwE

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 3, 2024

Juraj Slafkovsky was also hit in the head, but this time around it was via Penguins forward Noel Acciari, who was running around all night attempting to injure players. His shoulder directly to Slafkovsky’s head was not penalized, and the young Slovak did not return to the game.