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Canadiens Postgame

Habs Highlights: The Jakub Dobes Show, Slafkovsky, Laine

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The Montreal Canadiens were in Dallas on Thursday, looking to avenge their 2-1 shootout loss to the Stars on Saturday.

Rookie Jakub Dobes was aiming to keep his perfect record intact, once again facing one of the top teams in the NHL. Suffice it to say, Dobes has been thrown to the wolves when it comes to the teams he’s faced, but all signs point to a young player who can handle that type of difficult usage, which is a significant boon for head coach Martin St-Louis.

The Habs started the game on the right foot from a statistical standpoint, and controlled the momentum throughout most of the first period, but the Stars clearly took over in the final 40 minutes. Thanks to a great performance by Dobes (this is a recording), the Canadiens managed to emerge with a 3-1 win.

If you’re looking to discuss more Habs hockey after finishing this recap, make sure to join us for a fun post-game chat on YouTube.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Resilience On The Menu

We recently investigated some of the myths surrounding 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky, and while some of the criticism regarding his game has been valid, the fact of the matter is that he’s producing quite well at 5v5 this year.

MUST READ: Montreal Canadiens MythBusters – Juraj Slafkovsky Edition

The Habs found themselves in a hole when Michael Pezzetta took another early penalty, a play that may lead to the former Sudbury Wolves forward watching the remainder of the season from the press box, as the Canadiens simply don’t have the luxury of defending penalties from fourth-line players.

Fortunately, as per (recent) tradition, the Canadiens showed great resilience when Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki put together a great passing play to set up Slafkovsky for a tap-in goal.

It was arguably one of Slafkovksy’s best games of the year, and not only because of the early goal. He was taking advantage of shooting opportunities, a rarity in his case. Of course, his usage doesn’t necessarily lend well to a high volume of shots, but he still has to put as much rubber toward the opposing goaltender as possible when he’s on the ice.

It’s Dobes Time

One thing that has become abundantly clear is that Dobes does not give opposing players much to shoot at. They’re forced to overthink their shots, and attempt to pick corners, which makes the prospect of scoring off the rush very difficult.


Dobes stopped every single high-danger chance he faced at 5v5 through the first 40 minutes of play, a key contribution because the Canadiens lost most of the momentum to the Stars in the second frame.

Laine’s Form

The powerplay goals from Patrik Laine have been a big help when it comes to securing wins in close games, but the most important element he can bring to the table for the Habs is strong play at 5v5.

We saw him score his first 5v5 on Tuesday versus Utah, and he followed it up with a nifty little play against Dallas that led to a high-danger scoring chance. The speed at which he sent the puck back to his stick from his skate was a thing of beauty.

He was quite upset when he got to the bench, probably because he sent his shot wide, but it was still a very encouraging sign from a player who is slowly but surely finding his 5v5 form.

The skaters rewarded Dobes for his strong play by scoring a crucial goal midway through the third period. Lane Hutson quickly found a shooting lane, hoping to generate a rebound, but Alex Newhook managed to get his heel on the stick before it made its way past Jake Oettinger. The play extended Hutson’s point streak to six games, which means he still leads all NHL rookies in scoring, with an impressive three goals and 33 assists in just 44 games.

As for Newhook, he still needs to become a more reliable source of offence, but he has been using his speed much more often in the New Year, which is exactly what you want to see from the silky-smooth skater.

Joel Armia, who enjoyed a great game from a defensive standpoint, sealed the deal for the Habs by scoring his 100th career goal in an empty net.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the Toronto Maple Leafs with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET. All the Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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