Habs Highlights: Caufield Scores Twice, Primeau Falters Again

The Montreal Canadiens were in Boston on Sunday afternoon, facing the Bruins in the second leg of back-to-back games for Martin St-Louis’ troops. To make matters more difficult, the Canadiens had to travel following their frustrating 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

The Bruins held an hour-long ceremony to celebrate the franchise’s 100th anniversary, giving the Canadiens players a little more time to rest before they took to the ice for the second time in less than 24 hours.

The ceremony was very nice, and though many fans suggested it was far from exciting, we have to remember the Canadiens have more history than almost all the Original Six teams combined. Habs fans have been incredibly spoiled, historically speaking. Any ceremony will pale in comparison with what we’re used to seeing in Montreal.

The ceremony was also a good reminder that the Bruins gifted Ken Dryden to the Habs, and that Montreal has been a constant thorn in Boston’s side over the course of the last century.

Of course, as the 20th century poet Robert Allen Zimmerman once said, “The Times, They Are a-Changin‘.”

The Montreal Canadiens no longer dominate the Bruins every time they meet, with the pendulum swinging firmly toward Boston’s end in the last decade or so. Being a little too arrogant about past accomplishments is a risky endeavour.

Boston emerged with a 6-3 win on Sunday, and there’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dive into those highlights!

The Battle Outside Ragin’, Will Soon Shake Your Windows

While the Bruins honoured 100 years of Boston hockey, the Canadiens started the game with all the intensity and focus of a 100-year-old.

Allowing three goals in under two minutes is never a great strategy, and while it’s easy to blame Cayden Primeau for the poor start, there’s no doubt the team as an entity started on the wrong foot.

That doesn’t absolve Primeau from making saves, and at one point you’d like to see him put together an above-average performance. Or maybe even an average performance, but I’m not convinced Samuel Montembeault would have made much of a difference on Sunday.

The Habs were biting on plays harder than a starved Northern Pike, and just like the fish, they kept biting even when they knew things were about to go wrong.

Charlie McAvoy’s 4th goal of the year is a nice one. Habs defenders couldn’t keep up. 1-0 Bs. pic.twitter.com/KlTi7qRcOp

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

As we discussed earlier in the week, Primeau’s development was the epitome of poor planing and execution, making his difficult starts rather easy to predict. Yes, he needs to make more saves, but Primeau is not the only reason the Canadiens fell behind 3-0 in less time than it takes to down three sadness bourbons on a Sunday afternoon while watching Original Six rivals battle.

Mike Matheson arguably had his worst game of the season, with his miscues leading directly to two goals against, if not more. He wasn’t the only player to struggle, but his play was indicative of the poor decision-making from various Canadiens players all game long.

Pastrnak steals Matheson’s lunch money and then scores. 2-0 Bs. pic.twitter.com/ga8U2qQ1tV

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

Showing Some Pride

Arber Xhekaj was the player who ended up being the catalyst of the team’s first goal. The puck hit Cole Caufield, leading to his 15th goal of the year, but Xhekaj deserves most of the credit for taking matters into his own hands while the rest of the team was sleeping.

Arber Xhekaj drives the play and the Habs are on the board!!!!! #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/yvTGiCIYbT

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

Xhekaj was one of the few players who made a positive impact, though he was given a 10-minute misconduct after the Bruins threw a tantrum following a very clean hit. Trent Frederic was actually the aggressor on the play, even if he was the one that comically bounced off Xhekaj.

During the scrum, two linesmen jumped on Xhekaj, while allowing the Bruins players involved to skate freely, which is starting to become a recurring theme whenever Xhekaj is involved in a battle.

Xhekaj is no angel, that much we know, but I’m not naive enough to suggest the referees don’t circle Xhekaj’s name before every game. They know what to expect, and they also are looking for issues, which is one of the reasons why he ends up getting so many ticky-tacky calls, and why we’re seeing linesmen double team him instead of attempting to slow down players from the opposing team.

It’s one thing to pay special attention to a player, it’s another to put said player at risk due to user bias. That becomes a safety issue.

The Bruins weren’t happy with Arber Xhekaj’s hit, I guess. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/hhAc2j8J8X

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

Better Late Than Never

The Habs allowed the Bruins to score just 21 seconds into the third period, yet another early demoralizing play that involved Primeau and poor defensive coverage.

Caufield has to be tighter in coverage, Primeau has to make a save, Habs have to stop offering up the zone.

Among other issues. pic.twitter.com/9K2ccQg6kx

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

The good news is the Habs woke up shortly afterwards when Emil Heineman, a player who has put together very solid numbers on a team that constantly gets outchanced, scored his sixth goal of the year. An uptick in minutes is definitely in order, as Heineman has done everything possible to prove he’s ready to take the next step in his NHL career.

Emil Heineman with another very nice goal. It’s not easy to connect with these fast one-timers.

His sixth goal of the year for the #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/YvXB2jPv2e

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

Caufield followed Heineman’s lead, scoring his 16th goal of the year after a slick play by Nick Suzuki, which cut the Bruins lead to just two goals. Unfortunately, it was all for naught, as the Bruins shut down the Canadiens from there on end. Ultimately, even if he’s not the only reason the Habs were playing like chickens with their heads cut off, if Primeau could have made one or two more decent saves earlier in the game, it would have been a much tighter matchup.

Nick Suzuki drives the play (as is tradition), and Cole Caufield finds the back of the net for the second time today.

5-3 now. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/yNcp4OHY3y

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 1, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday. They will face the New York Islanders, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.