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Canadiens Postgame

Canadiens Highlights: Kapanen Scores First In Losing Cause

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montreal canadiens oliver kapanen

The Montreal Canadiens were in Toronto on Wednesday night, facing the Maple Leafs in their traditional season-opening match-up.

It was a relatively low-event game, rather surprising given both teams are facing a lot of pressure to take the next step in their bid to capture a Stanley Cup. Of course, the Leafs are hoping to win it all this season, whereas the Habs are aiming for the playoffs, but the pressure in both markets is always intense.

In the end, the Canadiens were not able to protect their fragile one-goal lead, as the Leafs emerged with a 5-2 win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Everyone Remembers The First Time

The Leafs started the game on the right foot, testing Montembeault often and early. This led to a Leafs goal just 60 seconds into the season, scored by winger Bobby McCann. Things seemed to go from bad to worse, when Patrik Laine was called for hooking just a few moments later, but it presented an opportunity for the special teams to turn the tide.

Oliver Kapanen quickly made his mark. The young Finn scored off the rush, the first time a Canadiens players has scored their first NHL goal while shorthanded since Chris Chelios in 1984. Considering I have questioned his offensive potential, I have no choice but to send a heavy dose of praise Kapanen’s way. It was a very smart goal, not to mention perfect shot placement. In addition, the penalty-killing combination of Alex Newhook and Kapanen looked great, beyond the shorthanded goal.

Five-Yard Line

One of the most exciting plays that emerged from Ivan Demidov’s time in the KHL was his ability to quickly and efficiently break down defensive coverage, make his way to the front of the net, and take a shot in a high-danger scoring area. It was the driving force behind his excellent rookie season for SKA Saint-Petersburg.

It’s one thing to do it against players in the minors, but a completely different task to pull it off in a professional hockey setting. It’s even more difficult to do in the NHL, where open ice comes at a premium.

In that vein, I was happy to see him drive the net midway through the second period versus the Leafs, using his anticipation and stick handling to force the issue. He may not be able to do it as often as he did in the KHL, but a heightened quality of competition hasn’t stopped him from doing so in the NHL when the opportunity arises.

Speaking of Demidov, his presence on the right wing is likely to lead to even more scoring plays that start with a great pass from Lane Hutson in the Canadiens’ defensive zone.

Great First Impression

There’s nothing worse than immediately facing a cold streak upon joining on a new team. Conversely, few things improve morale quicker than finding the back of the net in your first game with an organization that went out of their way to trade for you during the offseason.

Zachary Bolduc wasted no time getting on the good side of Habs fans by using his great speed to pounce on a generous rebound by Anthony Stolarz.

Great speed and timing by Bolduc to pounce on the generous rebound by Stolarz.

Aaaaand It’s Gone

Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the lead did not last long. Arber Xhekaj, who had been enjoying a very good game, lost his balance at the worst possible time, giving Calle Jarnkrok a perfect opportunity to tie the game. I don’t want to give the impression that there’s a lack of respect for Montembeault at play, but ideally, he’d make that save to preserve the precious one-goal lead.

Hockey Sticks Are Important

The Leafs re-established the lead in the third period, immediately following a high-danger scoring chance for Hutson, which is often the case in the NHL, as momentum tends to turn on a dime.

On top of allowing a breakaway, two broken sticks were involved, which led to Hutson and Matheson attempting to defend without a stick, which I hear is not ideal. It was a gut punch for the Habs, who had controlled the majority of the shots and scoring chances up to that point. Auston Matthews scored in an empty-netter in the dying minutes of the game, which was reinforced by William Nylander’s own empty-net goal a few moments later.

Montreal Canadiens Stats And Additional Notes

  • Watching Alex Carrier in action is fascinating. He has absolutely no regard for his own health whenever he’s retrieving a puck, and his gap control tends to be quite good. He was a little overwhelmed with the workload last season, making his current third-pairing assignment alongside Xhekaj logical usage.
  • It’s always interesting to see how the media treats star players in other markets. The Sportsnet panel was quick to point out Auston Matthews’ lack of shots after just 40 minutes of play. I know Toronto is perhaps the only city that involves more intense media pressure than Montreal, but Matthews has scored 290 goals in the last six years, he probably deserves a longer leash than a handful of shifts at the start of the season.
  • It was far from the best game we’ve ever seen from Hutson. I’d argue it was closer to one of the worst, but we’re not going to lose any sleep about it at this point in the season.
  • The only time the crowd really contributed to the atmosphere was when the Blue Jays/Yankees score was shown on the Jumbotron.
  • It’s just one game, but the Canadiens’ fourth line had a great outing. Laine, Jake Evans, and Josh Anderson controlled almost all the shots throughout their limited shifts. Ironically, the lines that featured the first two goalscorers of the season struggled.  CF% = percent of shots controlled by a player, team, or line.

canadiens lines game 1

  • I’m still not sure if I love the Matheson – Dobson pairing, but they did fairly well against the Leafs in the shot control department at 5v5 (57 percent).
  • Even though Montreal’s top line did not score, they are the only trio that managed to control the high-danger shots (6-3). In fact, they generated six of the nine high-danger chances by the Canadiens on Wednesday night. The Habs have few issues when it comes to shot control, but they still have a lot of work to be done when it comes to quality scoring chances. Fortunately, the Suzuki line is leading the charge in that important assignment.
  • Habs fans are probably not in the mood for silver linings, but the score, which included two empty-net goals for the Leafs, was very unflattering for the Canadiens.

Canadiens Versus Maple Leafs Heatmap

(5v5, via Natural Stat Trick)

montreal canadiens leafs

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Thursday, facing the Red Wings in Detroit. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

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

Editor’s Note: I’d like to apologize for the lack of coverage in the last few days. I was unavailable due to a medical issue, but our regularly-scheduled programming is back in place. 

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