Habs Highlights: Slafkovsky Continues Great Play, Laine Produces

The Montreal Canadiens were in Seattle on Wednesday, facing the Kraken in the second leg of back-to-back games that also included travel.

There were two changes to the lineup, with Jakub Dobes taking over netminding duties from Samuel Montembeault, while Patrik Laine recovered from his flu in time to replace Joel Armia.

It wasn’t pretty, but thanks to great efforts from Laine and Juraj Slafkovsky in particular, the Canadiens managed to leave Seattle with at least one point, losing 5-4 in overtime.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

False Start

Even though the Kraken entered the first intermission with a well-deserved 1-0 lead, it’s only fair to suggest things could have been much worse for the Canadiens.

Have you ever put a Kraft Singles in the microwave for a few seconds? Well, if so, you have a good idea of the structural integrity offered by Montreal’s defensive play.

The Kraken flat-out dominated, but were barely rewarded for their impressive 9-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances at 5v5. It’s also worth noting they hit three posts in just a few minutes. Simply put, the first period was uglier than when the club lights come on at 3:04 am.

Dobes struggled, but the team playing in front of him wasn’t any better.

Things took a turn for the worse when Eeli Tolvanen gave the Kraken a 2–0 lead just five minutes into the second period. Tolvanen, a waiver pickup, is quickly closing in on the 20-goal mark, but that’s a topic for another day.

And then, the Canadiens decided it was time to play a little hockey.

Patrik Laine scored his 15th goal of the year via passes by Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson, giving the Canadiens a little momentum when they needed it most. The goal meant that Laine tied Brendan Gallagher for the third-most goals among all Habs players, however, unlike everyone else in the lineup that hit the 65-game mark, Laine has only featured in 35 games. It’s worth keeping in mind as we weirdly continue to criticize Laine despite his excellent production.

Don’t get me wrong, his 5v5 play is far from ideal, but we knew that going into the season.

Any way you cut it, only Suzuki and Caufield have more goals than Laine this year, and that’s notable for a team that struggles to produce secondary offence.

I understand the need to be edgy on the internet, but maybe, for once, we shouldn’t cannibalize this player, especially when we consider he is providing more goals in fewer games than every other Hab in recent team history.

Just some food for thought.

Bon retour, Patrik! 😁 pic.twitter.com/t8KHKDYgOv

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 13, 2025

Speaking of Laine’s 5v5 play, he set up Alex Newhook thanks to a fantastic pass deep in the offensive zone. Not only did the goal come off the rush, Laine once again provided crucial offence at a time when most of his teammates were asleep.

Perhaps the contrived criticism has been a bit much in his case?

More food for thought.

Après Laine le marqueur, Laine le passeur! 😎 pic.twitter.com/f78xISNcY9

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 13, 2025

Slaf O’Clock

With Laine getting the party started, the first line decided to get in on the action, as per tradition. Juraj Slafkovsky’s great late-season stretch continues, as evidenced by his two-goal effort against the Kraken.

The first goal once again saw him trust his shot. That’s two games in a row! I know that may not seem like much, but we’re talking about Juraj ‘I don’t do shooting’ Slafkovsky, here.

The recent uptick in confidence has been a joy to watch, particularly in the offensive zone.

Quel revirement de situation en deuxième! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/VhNAOhmCvm

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) March 13, 2025

The second goal was a little questionable. I won’t lie, I thought it was a high stick, but the NHL has angles we don’t immediately have access to, and they must have seen something that I didn’t.

Either way, it was Slafkovsky using his condor-like frame to create chaos in the crease, and that’s exactly what the coaching staff wants to see from the youngest player in the lineup.

LE 100E POINT DE SLAF DANS LA LNH

SLAF’S 100TH NHL POINT#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/wQMPgcnSlq

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) March 13, 2025

The Montreal Canadiens Made Their Bed

It’s a good thing the goal counted, because the Habs’ complete lack of discipline reared its ugly head in the third period, via penalties by Arber Xhekaj and David Savard.

Seattle scored two powerplay goals, and if we’re being perfectly honest, both penalties were deserved.

If we’re being even more honest, the Habs were lucky to at least secure one point in a game where the Kraken held a 16-6 edge in high-danger scoring chances at 5v5.

The Kraken went on to win the game in overtime, taking just five seconds to break the tie.

The play itself was a nice setup by Seattle, but we have to acknowledge Martin St-Louis’ overtime strategy backfired spectacularly. It might be time to end the Christian Dvorak experiment. A faceoff win is not that important considering the dangers that come with immediately switching one player after the draw. I’d also argue lining up three players at centre ice makes no sense in overtime, but there’s no point in crying over spilled milk, especially since I’ve already been doing it for a lot longer than it took the Kraken to score.

it only took Monty 5 seconds, y’all pic.twitter.com/zS5gJ36tvx

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) March 13, 2025

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

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