Habs Highlights: Total Team Effort Leads To Great Canadiens Win

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night, with Team Canada associate general manager Kyle Dubas present to keep an eye on some of the potential roster players for the 4 Nations Faceoff, including starter Samuel Montembeault and team captain Nick Suzuki.

The Habs had played much better in recent games, especially from a defensive standpoint, and were coming off their best outing of the season when they earned a well-deserved 5-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

They built on that momentum in their impressive performance against the Oilers, which ended with a 3-0 shutout win. Everyone involved in the game, including head coach Martin St-Louis, deserves praise for their commitment to the cause.

Let’s dive into those highlights!

Operation Slow Down McDavid

Even if the Oilers are going through a difficult start relative to expectations, a team with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl should never be taken lightly. The Canadiens would need a complete team effort to match Edmonton’s offensive firepower, and for all intents and purposes, they did a very good job controlling the momentum in the first period. The Oilers had a slight edge in shots at 5v5 (12-11), but the Habs were the better team when it came to high-danger scoring chances (3-1).

Unfortunately, defenceman Kaiden Guhle had to leave the game after blocking an Evan Bouchard point shot. The puck seemed to have hit Guhle in the arm, forcing him to immediately drop his stick and retreat to the locker room. It was random, and you can’t fault Guhle for blocking a shot, but it’s also difficult to ignore how often he gets injured by putting himself in the line of fire. A combination of bad luck and wreckless abandon has already cost Guhle a significant portion of his young career.

The good news is that he returned to the ice by the start of the second period, which means he (hopefully) didn’t absorb any permanent damage from Bouchard’s heavy slap shot.

Evan Bouchard has a heavy shot and it appears to have hit Guhle in the arm/wrist area: pic.twitter.com/XBiy5WfLhh

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2024

The first period also featured a big hit from Arber Xhekaj on Zach Hyman, a culmination of a feisty 20 minutes of play between two teams who were finishing their checks and getting involved in their fair share of post-whistle scrums. It was also confirmation that Xhekaj was no worse for wear after his heavyweight fight with Mathieu Olivier.

Arber Xhekaj’s hit on Hyman: #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/gncvbHqXqI

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2024

Holding The Fort

The Oilers took the most shots in the second period, but once again it was the Canadiens who did a better job generating quality chances. It felt like McDavid had the puck on his stick for roughly half the period, but a well-orchestrated defensive strategy kept the best player in the NHL to the outside for the most part. Full marks to Mike Matheson, the defenceman who was tasked with shadowing McDavid during most of his shifts. Guhle also provided a very important defensive presence whenever McDavid was on the ice.

Most of the Oilers chances came while they were on the powerplay, but Montembeault continued his strong play from recent games. It’s probably too early to suggest he’s back to his dominant form from the last two seasons, but it’s clear that he’s putting the difficult start to the season behind him.

The hard work paid off for Matheson when he assisted on the opening goal of the game, a very nice deflection by veteran Brendan Gallagher. It was Gallagher’s eighth goal of the season, but roughly his 200th goal that came from putting himself in a high-traffic and heavy cross-check area on the ice.

I know some will want to suggest Gallagher found the fountain of youth this season, but the truth is that his underlying numbers rebounded last season. This is just confirmation that the strong process led to the likeliest results. Either way, it’s always fun to see a veteran find his rhythm after a difficult stretch, especially one that works as hard as No.11.

The goal also marked the 11th time in a row a different member of the Canadiens scored a goal, an encouraging sign when it comes to spreading the offensive wealth throughout the lineup.

Brendan Gallagher’s 8th goal of the year comes off a nice deflection.

1-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/f8rApIIa41

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2024

It’s Not The Size Of The Dog In The Fight

Remember that time Cole Caufield outworked 6’8″ Tyler Myers? Well, on Monday he only out muscled a player who was half a foot taller than him when he forced a turnover by Drasaitl, shortly before setting up a great goal by Guhle.

Unfortunately, Caufield has ruined his Cy Young campaign with his streak of assists, but he probably won’t complain about having 16 points in the first 19 games of the year.

Cole Caufield outworks Draisaitl and sets up a great goal by Kaiden Guhle. Jake Evans gets the other assist.

2-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/TDyjHtJo9a

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2024

The Canadiens sealed the deal shortly thereafter, when Jake Evans scored his fourth goal of the season in an empty net. It was fitting, as Evans represents the type of player who offers an honest effort on every night, and against the Oilers the Canadiens needed everyone to play like their second-line centre.

Jake Evans uses the force to score the ENG.
3-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/xWaU6LPifF

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 19, 2024

Montreal Canadiens 4th Line Contributions

Before we end the instant recap, we also have to give credit to the fourth line for their strong effort against the Oilers. Lucas Condotta, Joel Armia, and Emil Heineman kept the momentum on Montreal’s side by spending several of their shifts in the offensive zone. Heineman, in particular, was flying, as evidenced by his many hits. Keeping the puck 200 feet away from your goaltender is often the greatest gift a fourth line can provide.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will face the Golden Knights at the Bell Centre, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.