Canadiens Postgame
Habs Highlights: Jake Evans Steals The Spotlight Again
For the second time in just over 24 hours, the Montreal Canadiens were facing a Florida-based team, looking to capitalize on their recent hot streak.
Fresh off the heels of shutting down the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 4-0, the Canadiens were hoping to build on their momentum, and thanks to yet another great performance by Jake Evans they managed to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, emerging with a well-deserved 5-2 win.
Florida State Dominance
Sam Montembeault was given the start, and it wasn’t a particularly busy night, as he turned aside 20 shots en route to his 13th win of the year.
Alex Newhook, who had two assists on Saturday, scored the game’s opening goal, his first goal in seven games.
qqun a commandé un tir parfait?
Snipe? SNIPE.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/oq6Kt6KPT9
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 29, 2024
Christian Dvorak then tipped a Kaiden Guhle point shot midway through the second period, scoring his third of the season, and his first in 19 games.
la reprise
the replay#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/9snYXMf4tK
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 29, 2024
Guess Who?
Jake Evans and Joel Armia scored the team’s third and fourth goal respectively, and Brendan Gallagher added an empty net goal late in the third.
Evans, whose career high is 13 goals, set back in 2021-22, scored for the fifth straight game, and now has 10 goals in just 36 games. The Habs also improved their record to 9-0 when Evans scores this season. The impending unrestricted free agent looks like he’ll be getting a hefty raise this summer if the Montreal Canadiens intend on keeping him around.
JAKE #$%^*&* EVANS#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/fmCK9WRlSy
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 29, 2024
Moving Forward
The Montreal Canadiens have now scored four or more goals in their last six games, producing a 5-1 record in that stretch. The win against the Lightning pushed them ahead of the New York Rangers for 12th in the Eastern Conference, and only three points behind their division rival Ottawa Senators for the final wild card spot.
The Canadiens will be back in action on New Year’s Eve, facing the Golden Knights in Last Vegas. The puck drop is scheduled for 3 pm ET.
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Shocking, to say the least. To beat Florida AND Tampa back to back? And in convincing fashion? And with a rookie goalie making his NHL debut in one of those games? Anyone saying they envisioned this before puck drop yesterday is being totally disingenuous. There are no doubt many reasons for this sudden surge of mature hockey play, but I suspect the following had a contribution:
1. Patrik Laine’s return, giving the Habs 2 dangerous lines;
2. The resurgence of Newhook and Dach, who seem to be finding their mojo;
3. The incredibly hot play of not just Evans, but that entire 4th line. Some nights they are the best line on the ice for Mtl;
4. The steadying influence of Carrier on the back end. What an absolutely brilliant addition;
5. Speaking of the defence, keeping the pairing consistent. You see each pair having more assurance with their partners.
Also, bringing up Dobes was the correct move. It should come as no surprise that no one claimed Primeau off waivers. Maybe he can find his game with plenty of reps in Laval.
I think it is the addition of Carrier made the biggest difference as now the defence are playing consistent hockey not trying to do to much. Carrier now has 4 points in 5 games when certain writers said Montreal was giving up offence in Barron in the trade (Carrier previously has had 30 points in a NHL season).
Barron’s first game in Nashville was a disaster as he was a -3 in less than 7 minutes of ice time.
“ 5. Speaking of the defence, keeping the pairing consistent. You see each pair having more assurance with their partners.”
Excellent point, sir.
No love for heineman?
They would have had 2 more points if St. Louis would not have played Montembeault against Columbus.He wouldn’t play Primeau well his stats would be lot better if not for the horrific giveaways by Matheson in his last game against Boston. Nice double standard as he is allowed to make mistake after mistake yet when Xhekaj or Struble do it they are in the press box.
You speak my mind here. It goes through my mind game after game time after time that Matheson makes errors over and over again, just one of which would have AX demoted to the minors.
This is one thing about MSL that I simply do not understand.
Caufield was flying today in both directions, Anderson was fast, physical and effective. Guhle defended very well. Suzuki made a lot of great decisions. Armia also played smart and effectively
Laine and Hutson didn’t have A games but the team was able to win regardless which is encouraging.
I think we have outscored tge opposition 26-11 over the past 6 games. The point being that this is the anticipated improvement that led management, players and many fans to believe that being in the mix was possible this year. I do not recall that we had a comparable stretch of good hockey last season. Progress or a mirage?
Dach is back.
I love it: and it’sonly the beginning for that line.
The addition of 1 forward (Laine), 1 Dman (Carrier) and 1 goalie (Dobes) and it’s like we have a new team all of a sudden. Let’s enjoy it while we can for what it’s worth. The bubble is bound to burst, but in the meantime, it’s a great Christmas present for all of us fans.