Connect with us

Canadiens Analysis

Canadiens Fans Given Encouraging Glimpse Into The Future

Published

4 months ago

on

By

montreal canadiens goal playoffs

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Washington Capitals on Sunday night, aiming to even their series against the top-seeded organization in the Eastern Conference.

The Habs would have to do it without their starter, as Samuel Montembeault was not cleared to play following his injury in Game 3. This led to Jakub Dobes making his first career start in the playoffs, while Cayden Primeau was recalled from the Laval Rocket as an insurance policy.

The Capitals emerged with a 5-2 win, including a two empty-net goals. This won’t be easy to swallow at first, since the excitement from the playoff run has overshadowed some of the necessary context, but all things considered, it was a valiant effort by the youngest team to ever qualify for the playoffs.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Settling Down

Dobes quickly settled down after the opening goal of the game by the Capitals, a reasonable time frame when we consider he’s a rookie netminder who has not started a game since April 12.

Allowing opponents to score first is far from an issue in Montreal. In fact, it may be a crucial element to their chaotic game plan.

Regardless, fantastic work on a 5-on-3 penalty kill lifted the team’s spirits a little, with the Bell Centre faithful doing the rest of the work. At the risk of sounding more arrogant than usual, there’s almost nothing better than springtime hockey, and there’s absolutely nothing better than springtime hockey in Montreal.

That’s why Canadiens fans were united in euphoria following the team’s first goal of the game, which featured the youngest, second-youngest, and third-youngest players in the lineup.

Ivan Demidov capitalized on the open ice available on the powerplay to drive the puck down low, only to quickly find Juraj Slafkovsky unmarked once he emerged from behind the net. Phenom Lane Hutson also registered an assist on the play.

X-Factor

You’d be hard-pressed to suggest the Canadiens are not a completely different team when Arber Xhekaj is in the lineup.

Josh Anderson has led the physical charge in the series versus Washington, but few other NHLers manage to drive opponents up a wall faster than Xhekaj, who garnered much of the attention from the Capitals bench throughout the game.

While the Capitals were paying close attention to Xhekaj, the Canadiens were free to focus on generating offence.

Washington was desperate to respond to Montreal’s dominance in the war of attrition. This led to Alex Ovechkin taking a run at Jake Evans, which, in turn, led to a very well-deserved powerplay for the Habs.

Once again, it was the youngest players in the lineup that made a difference, with Demidov and Hutson earning their second assists of the period on Cole Caufield’s third goal of the playoffs.

Wilson Awakes

Credit where credit is due, it seemed like the Capitals were unravelling while focusing on landing big hits, but an absolutely thunderous hit by Wilson on Alexandre Carrier quickly swung the momentum to Washington’s corner.

Some fans will suggest it was an ugly hit, but he tucked his shoulder and he didn’t make initial contact to the head, which means it’s legal according to the NHL rulebook.

Such is life in the playoffs.

Big hits can lead to big moments, such as Andrew Mangiapane’s game-winning goal in the dying minutes of the third period.

The Montreal Canadiens (1-3) are back in action on Wednesday, for Game 6 of their series versus the Washington Capitals (3-1). The puck drop is 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