Connect with us

Canadiens Postgame

Habs Highlights: Hellebuyck Stands Tall, Kaiden Guhle Injured

Published

9 months ago

on

By

montreal canadiens kaiden guhle

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, hoping to return to the win column and continue their steady climb up the NHL standings.

Prior to puck drop, the Canadiens made some changes to their defensive pairings, with Alexandre Carrier joining Mike Matheson on the top pairing, while Lane Hutson was slotted alongside Kaiden Guhle on the second pairing. This meant that Matheson was back to playing on his strong side, while Hutson was forced to play on his offside.

The Jets emerged with a 4-1 win, though not for a lack of trying from the Habs.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Better Start

Unlike previous games, the Canadiens started the game as if they were shot out of a cannon, with veteran Brendan Gallagher leading the charge from an offensive standpoint.

Midway through the first period the Habs held a significant edge in shots, not to mention a 4-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances at 5v5. The only problem was that Connor Hellebuyck is a hell of a goalie, which meant the game remained tied despite Montreal’s great start.

At the very least, the Habs did not offer their opponents an easy two-goal advantage, which meant they weren’t behind the eight-ball from the very-get go, making life a little easier on everyone in the lineup.

Their hard work paid off shortly thereafter, when a sustained offensive-zone shift led to Juraj Slafkovsky’s eighth goal of the year, assisted by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. We all know hockey is a fickle mistress, and that a strong period without scoring a goal can often lead to a change in momentum in favour of the team that was outplayed. In addition, the Jets are a great team, which suggests you simply can’t afford to have a good period without finding the back of the net, because that would be the ultimate wasted opportunity.

The Jets responded just a few minutes later thanks to a strong shift by their top line that featured Gabe Vilardi outworking Alexandre Carrier, and Kyle Connor capitalizing on a loose puck, not to mention the space he created between Mike Matheson and himself, to score his 28th  goal of the year.

As previously mentioned, this would have been a much worse situation for the Habs if the Jets entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead after being outshot by a wide margin, but thanks to Slafkovsky’s goal, it was merely a tied game.

No Show

Rather than following up on their solid start, the Canadiens melted away in the second period. If we’re being perfectly honest, it felt like the Jets woke up, and the Habs simply couldn’t match their talent or work ethic. After controlling 58% of the shots in the first, the Habs managed just a 41 percent shot share in the second.

While the second pairing of Guhle and Hutson looked good and produced healthy stats, the top pairing of Matheson and Carrier struggled, especially when it came down to shutting down high-danger scoring chances.


From Bad To Worse

If Guhle did not have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. The 23-year-old fell awkwardly midway through the second period, which led to his right leg slamming full force into the boards.

Hopefully Guhle can avoid another lengthy injury, but Martin St-Louis’ reaction to the initial diagnosis was far from reassuring.

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

Now that the glow from their strong stretch has started to fade, you can sense the frustration level rising around Montreal. That’s fair, to a certain extent, especially now that we know the Canadiens are capable of playing well against top teams.

But this was always going to be a difficult game for the Canadiens, regardless of how well they played. The Jets are a Stanley Cup contender, whereas the Canadiens are attempting to turn the corner in a rebuild.

Montreal had more high-danger scoring chances at 5v5 (11-9), while also holding an edge in shots, and though that may not bring much solace to some, it’s a sign that the Habs were not blown out of the water against one of the best teams in the NHL, which is encouraging.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday. They will face the Minnesota Wild 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.

Related Topics:

MHN in your inbox

Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox