Habs Highlights: Canadiens Fall Apart After Early Suzuki Goal

The Montreal Canadiens hosted Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre on Thursday night, with both teams looking to build a little momentum in a bid to put their relatively difficult starts to the season behind them. There was one lineup change to note, as veteran defenceman David Savard was a late scratch, which led to Jayden Struble playing on the third pairing alongside Justin Barron.

A strong start by the Habs quickly fell apart, leading to a well-deserved 9-2 win for the Penguins that felt particularly demoralizing as the game mercifully came to an end.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Defensive Awareness

The Canadiens did not waste any time getting to work, which led to an early goal that saw sniper Cole Caufield turn good defensive positioning into a great scoring chance. Caufield drove the net with speed and did a fantastic job drawing attention from defenders before he found Nick Suzuki with a perfectly placed pass. It was Suzuki’s 11th goal of the year, pushing his current scoring streak to eight games (4G, 7A).

Cole Caufield turns defence into offence, then sets up Nick Suzuki’s 11th goal of the year. #GoHabsGo up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/aOVtTvjliv

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2024

Is The Penalty In The Room With Us Right Now?

I’ll drop my usual refereeing preamble, because at this point I’m complaining as often as anyone else when it comes to the zebras. I wish it wasn’t the case, but one of the most frustrating recurring themes this season has involved the officials calling ghost penalties on the Habs, which is followed by a powerplay goal for their opponents, and a significant momentum shift in the game.

This time around the referees somehow called a hooking penalty on Patrik Laine, and if I’m being perfectly honest, the entire sequence left me confused. Not only did the referees completely miss the boat, I’m fairly sure a few of Newton’s laws of physics were broken when Anthony Beauvillier went flying backwards. He may have been trying to land a reverse hit and failed miserably, but one thing is for certain, it was yet another clear-cut blown call by NHL officials.

I don’t want to give anyone the impression that one penalty should be enough to derail a team, especially since there was plenty of hockey left to play once Laine was punished for his mime work, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue it did not directly influence the game, as Rickard Rakell scored on the ensuing man advantage for the Penguins.

Patrik Laine was called for hooking on this play.

lol pic.twitter.com/wwCQJwmaG9

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2024

Hutson Moment

It happens at least once per game.

No.48 dances his way down low, which leads to a chorus of excitement from the fans, as it signals an exciting play is about to take place. Hutson draws defenders out of high-danger scoring areas with some great stick work and top-notch anticipation, before feeding a Canadiens forward with a perfect pass. The Canadiens forward shoots, and… ends up hitting the goaltender directly in the logo, but that’s only if they didn’t completely miss the pass due to a lack of anticipation.

Hutson moments are usually followed by a period of deep contemplation as fans picture how things would go if the team would capitalize on even 10 percent of the quality chances he sets up.

LANE HUTSON, MESDAMES ET MESSIEURS pic.twitter.com/tubTAbYgYp

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 13, 2024

Responding To Adversity

The Penguins took over in the second period due to some questionable defensive coverage by the Canadiens, particularly when Hutson and Matheson were on the ice.

But at this point in the rebuild, trailing midway through the game isn’t just expected, it’s a well-rehearsed situation. What matters for Martin St-Louis’ team is the response, and on Thursday defenceman Arber Xhekaj led the way from an emotional standpoint, delivering a series of big hits throughout the game that kept the Penguins on their toes. He was playing angry, but not Hulk angry, and that’s when Xhekaj is at his best.

Arber Xhekaj was busy in the first period. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/7DhLseK43x

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2024

A nice drive by Jake Evans, who continues to enjoy a great season as his contract runs out, gave way to Joel Armia’s fourth goal of the season, giving the Canadiens a little life as they retreated to the locker rooms for the second intermission.

It should also be noted St-Louis mixed up his lines in the second period, with Juraj Slafkovsky returning to the top line, while Alex Newhook was demoted to the second line alongside Laine and Kirby Dach.

A nice drive by Jake Evans leads to Joel Armia’s fourth goal of the year, cutting the Penguins lead to just one. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Rlp7Lf7qbU

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2024

If I May

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you footage of Flyers forward Scott Laughton scoring with a breakaway slap shot. You may be wondering why I added it to the Canadiens recap, and, well, honestly, there’s no reason in particular, it’s just one of my favourite plays.

Don’t get me wrong, modern-day hockey is much more entertaining now that teams focus on plays that have the highest odds of scoring, but I’ll always be a sucker for stacked pad saves, hip checks, and unleashing a wild clapper a few feet away from the goaltender.

🚨🚨🚨 ALERTE TIR FRAPPÉ EN ÉCHAPPÉE 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/gPY80qFtLU

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 13, 2024

Usual Suspects

If you wanted to write the bones of a script prior to puck drop, your main plot would focus on Crosby’s inevitable three-point game, as is tradition whenever he plays in Montreal. This time around it wasn’t Crosby who did the most damage, that honour belonged to either Rakell or Bryan Rust, as they both scored a pair of goals.

But regardless of the new twist on an old classic, suffice it to say Penguins forwards come to play against the Montreal Canadiens, because they are well aware that a solid outing will lead to a multipoint night.

Dach goes for a change, Laine drops his coverage.

Just a whole lotta sloppiness on this play. pic.twitter.com/xswl0f2BA2

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 13, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will face the Jets in Winnipeg, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.