Canadiens Postgame
Habs Highlights: Canadiens Drop First Ever Game Versus Utah
The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Utah Hockey Club at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, a battle between two teams that are struggling to leave the NHL’s basement.
It was the first ever meeting between the two teams, and it required overtime to decide a victor. Utah emerged with a 3-2 overtime win that was probably well-deserved. If anything, the scoreline was a little unflattering toward the new franchise.
Let’s dive into those highlights!
Life Finds A Way
Shortly before puck drop, the Habs announced veteran Mike Matheson would be forced to miss the game with a lower-body injury. This meant Jayden Struble was no longer slated to watch the game from the press box as a healthy scratch. Instead, the 23-year-old defenceman lined up with Justin Barron on the third pairing.
Jayden Struble… «scoreur» ! Deux buts en deux matchs pour le défenseur du #CH 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/oQJvuQUjYM
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 27, 2024
And since hockey is a cruel but entertaining mistress, it was always going to be Struble who opened the scoring for the Canadiens. After what can only be described as a lacklustre start to the game for Martin St-Louis’ troops, Struble scored his second goal in as many games when his wrist shot from the blue line found the back of the net.
Alex Newhook jams home the loose puck, giving Montreal the lead in the third period!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/jTNVYudcDB
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 27, 2024
Frustration Mounting
The first two periods featured a collection of questionable calls against both teams, which eventually raised the ire of a few Canadiens players, including David Savard.
He initiated a rather animated conversation with the referees at the end of the second period, which led to a 10-minute misconduct. We’ll never know exactly what he said, but suffice it to say he probably did not use his Victorian vocabulary to convey the message.
The situation may have been frustrating, but no one can blame the referees for the fact the Habs only managed to generate eight shots in 40 minutes, which included two power plays.
What earned #Habs David Savard a 10 minute misconduct penalty at the end of the 2nd period ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4XM94wpDkx
— Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) November 27, 2024
New Look Newhook?
Alex Newhook possesses blazing speed, and can beat most players in a race to most areas on the ice, but we’ve only seen him use his fantastic skating to generate scoring chances perhaps three or four times this season. Spending much of his time defending means that Newhook is rarely able to use his best offensive weapon.
If he’s to stay with the team throughout the rebuild and into the seasons that are expected to be a little more successful, he’ll have to prove he can make a positive impact every game.
That doesn’t always mean a breakaway or an odd-man rush, though that is Newhook’s preferred approach. On Tuesday we saw him use his speed to beat a defender to the net and take advantage of a loose puck near the crease. Sure, it’s not as exciting as a breakaway goal, but in the end they’re all worth the same.
What earned #Habs David Savard a 10 minute misconduct penalty at the end of the 2nd period ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/4XM94wpDkx
— Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) November 27, 2024
Utah tied the game a few minutes later, with Logan Cooley earning a fantastic assist to set up Jack McBain. I don’t mean to rub any salt in the wounds of fans that are unhappy with Juraj Slafkovsky’s development, but seeing as Cooley is on pace for 65+ points, it’s important to remember that not all players develop at the same pace, and sometimes you can hurt a prospect by forcing him into the NHL a little too early.
MUST READ: Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky Demoted To The Fourth Line
That’s not to say Slafkovsky will never crack 65 points, because development isn’t always linear. For the record, the fourth line, which featured Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach, was outplayed by quite a margin against Utah.
Always a good night when both roommates score 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/FZXVg8hHJY
— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) November 27, 2024
The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action immediately, facing the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Wednesday, with the puck drop scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
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It’s a myth that Newhook has blazing speed and is faster than most. According to NHL Edge , his top speed this year is 22.30mph while league average is 21.88. He’s in the 70th percentile so when you take away known slow guys( Clydesdale types) he’s really just about average, maybe a little above. He excels at speed bursts over 20mph, 91 percentile so quickness is his thing but it doesn’t translate to the scoring sheet. He has a very average shot. So this blazing fast perception is not reality and Newhook must be seen as he really is, quick but with average hands, average shot and not hard to play against and not great defensively. Does that sound like a key piece of a championship team?
On February 25, 2024 the Canadiens had a skills competition and this is what was reported on the web site of the Canadiens:
The morning started with a classic Skills event – the Fastest Skater. Alex Newhook whipped around the ice with the day’s quickest lap time – 13,372 seconds – appearing to gain a speed boost by shedding his bucket mid-session.
I need to elaborate on my previous comment as there were only 6 other competitors mostly younger and including Paul Byron’s son Only one other Hab was in the competition and that was Joshua Roy who finished in second place. McDavid is much faster than all of them. Newhook is pretty fast but McDavid is much faster.
Just out of curiosity I went to NHL Edge to check which Canadiens have a top skating speed of 22 MPH or more and here is the result.
Matheson 23.07, Anderson 22.91 Dach 22.73, Heineman 22.52, Suzuki 22.44, Guhle 22.39, Newhook 22.30, Dvorak 22.21, Kapanen 22.21, Caufield 22.16 Slafkovsky 22.04.
I am surprised that Dach is so fast and also that Evans is not as fast as he looks. Evans looks like he is flying.
I had checked on Dach earlier this year and was very surprised. He looks slower than the stats. Big guys often look slower and smaller guys like evans often look faster. I’d say his top end is good but he takes a while to get going- not quick or a fast first few steps. It’s a good site for insights