|
In Hainsight: Habs Gain 2 Points but Lose Caufield |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
After Saturday’s showing, the Canadiens clearly wanted to make amends last night and came out strong with plenty of drive and energy. They dominated the first frame both in shots and scoring chances, but they couldn’t convert any of them. The Flames took charge in the 2nd though and took the lead on a power play as Jonathan Huberdeau was left all alone on the doorstep.
That goal mattered very little though as the Habs also lost Cole Caufield early on in the period, Caufield was skating in front of Allen’s net when he was absolutely rocked by Trevor Lewis. Given the difference in size, Caufield fell heavily, and his head bounced off the ice. He made his way back to the bench on his own, but it didn’t take long before he retreated to the locker-room and the Habs announced he wouldn’t be back. It seems like the team decided to err on the side of caution though since they just announced that he would be travelling with the team to Ottawa and should be available for tomorrow’s game.
With injuries pilling up for Montreal, Juraj Slafkovsky is getting an increased amount of ice-time and responsibilities. Last night, he wasn’t promoted to the top line when Caufield left, but he did get more minutes and made the most of them. He was a threat in the offensive zone all night long, taking 3 shots on net and being efficient in puck retrieval. It was his smart play along the boards that allowed the Canadiens to get back in the game when he sent a beautiful pass to Josh Anderson who only had to deflect it behind Markstrom to tie the game at 1-1 early in the 3rd.
Even on the defensive side of the game, we’re seeing improvement from the young Slovak. Late in the game the Flames got a 2 on 0 breakaway which Jonathan Kovacevic was able to neutralize in impressive fashion but after the game, the blueliner mentioned that if it hadn’t been for the little push Juraj Slafkovsky gave him as he was skating back, he wouldn’t have been able to make the play. As his ice time and play level improve, Slafkovsky is also gaining in confidence, he was on the ice in the dying moments of the game telling veteran Josh Anderson what he thought they should be doing if they won the faceoff. He was also on the ice in overtime as the Canadiens benefitted from a 4-minute power play thanks to Tyler Toffoli high-sticking Anderson. Overall, this was probably his best game in the NHL so far and with the improvement we’re seeing, it’s no surprise that he’s not going to the World Junior Championship.
Montreal got plenty of opportunities on the power play last night, both in regulation and in overtime they were unable to convert on a 5 on 3-man advantage that lasted nearly 2 minutes and on a 4-minute advantage in overtime, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, Markstrom was just on his game. It was weird to see different players try to fill in for the absent Caufield on the power play, no one got a shot quite like him, although Dach came close to scoring a “Caufieldesque” goal with a one-timer.
Jake Allen also played heck a game, stopping 34 of the 38 shots he received, in 2 games against Calgary, he’s given 2 goals on 81 shots and chances are, the Flames saw him in nightmares last night. These solid performances came at the right time, just when people were starting to wonder if Samuel Montembeault shouldn’t be the team’s number one.
In the end, the Canadiens were able to grab the 2 points thanks to goals from Suzuki and Dach In the shootout. Once again, Suzuki used his Datsyuk move to fool Markstrom and the Habs’ captain has now scored 4 goals in 4 shootout attempts this season, only the Wild’s Kirill Kaprisov has got a similar record. As for Dach, his goal left people scratching their heads and wondering why he doesn’t shoot more often, he’s got insanely good hands.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»