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Canadiens Postgame

Habs Highlights: Slafkovsky Leads Charge, Dobes Shines Again

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Montreal Canadiens Juraj Slafkovsky

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, looking to bounce back after a very disappointing effort against the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the week.



The Habs had recalled Rafael Harvey-Pinard prior to the game, as both Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher were game-time decisions, but Harvey-Pinard joined Michael Pezzetta in the press box when the veteran forwards hit the ice for the pre-game warm up.

Thanks to a strong effort from the top line, not to mention great saves by Jakub Dobes, the Habs pushed the game to overtime, but the Devils emerged with a 4-3 win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Another Bad Start

The Habs had done a much better job starting games during the stretch that saw them quickly climb the NHL standings, and though there was still some work to be done in that respect, it was a big step forward.

Unfortunately, old habits die hard.

They tripped out of the gates on Saturday, and then they proceeded to drop their soda all over their popcorn as they tried to pick up their broken nerd glasses.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but you get what I mean.

Mike Matheson, in particular, had a tough night. He was caught in no man’s land for the Devils’ first goal of the game, and then he was outworked by former Hab Tomas Tatar when the Devils took a 3-1 lead midway through the second period.

Slafkovsky Leads The Resilience Charge

Fortunately for head coach Martin St-Louis, his first line decided to take matters in their own hands to score a pair of nice goals at 5v5. It’s worth pointing out that Juraj Slafkovsky was crucial to both goals.

The first time around he outworked two opponents, which led to a very nice pass by Cole Caufield, and consequently, Nick Suzuki’s 15th goal of the year.

The second scoring play involving Slafkovsky saw him use good defensive positioning to quickly transition the puck up the ice. Suzuki returned the favour to Caufield, who scored his 25th of the season.

Beyond starting the play, Slafkovsky also got on his horse and drove the net, which not only led to roughly 14 cubic feet of snow landing on Jake Allen, it also distracted the Devils defencemen, giving Caufield ample time to pick his spot.

Seriously, look at all that snow. In another life, Slafkovsky was one of those giant snowmakers they install on ski hills.

Hometown (province) Impact

We’ve already discussed the incredible impact of the Alexandre Carrier trade, which goes beyond the second pairing, but we should also point out that he’s scoring at a much higher pace than he has throughout the rest of his career.

He’s a defence-first blue liner, which means we shouldn’t expect the surprising scoring to continue.

But for now, it’s the cherry on the great-trade-sundae being devoured by Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes.

Carrier scored his first in a Canadiens uniform when the team needed it most, tying the game early in the period giving, and giving the Canadiens plenty of time to complete their 14th comeback win of the year.

 

The Dobes Show

As mentioned, the Canadiens did not enjoy a solid start, and that includes Dobes, who allowed one of the few bad goals of his young career.

But as per tradition, the 23-year-old rebounded, to the point that he quickly put himself in the running for the player of the game with a ridiculous performance in the third period.

At that point in the game, the Devils were in full control, but Dobes held the fort with the stoicism of a 20-year-veteran while facing a supremely chaotic situation.

You can’t fault the Devils if they were frustrated, because Dobes made a series of fantastic saves when a New Jersey goal felt inevitable.

final seg


The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday. They will host the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre, with the puck drop scheduled for 7 pm ET.

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

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gig young

Mike Matheson’s play is an embarassment yet again! He has points in only one game in the last 11, which I guess rivals Tkachuk’s zero points in the last 10 games.Guhle is playing great with 6 points in last 10 games and is a +7 in the last 7 games where Hutson is a -8 in the last 6 and Matheson -5 in the last 5 games

Tony

Man, that game was hard to watch. It’s not as though the Habs weren’t trying. They were expending an enormous amount of energy. But they played without any apparent purpose. The Devils are a very good team, no argument, but the way they forechecked Mtl into the ice was embarrassing. They rarely allowed Mtl to set up their attack. And the shots against? Ouch. Poor Dobes. I mean, honestly, it’s hard to say the Habs deserved even one point last night, but that would be a disservice to Dobes, whose play was reminiscent of a young Carey Price. Habs need to tighten up their play, and quick. The rest of the league has kicked it up a gear.

Mike

“…but Harvey-Pinard joined Michael Pezzetta in the press box when the veteran forwards hit the ice for the pre-game warm up.”?!?
Pezz was in the press box? I know he didn’t play much but I don’t think they sent him upstairs between shifts! 😂