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In Hainsight: New Look Lines Lead to OT Win in Detroit |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
After four consecutive losses, Martin St-Louis decided to shuffle his top six and mix up his defense pairings. For the first time this season, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield were separated at even strength. The captain found himself centering Newhook on the left and Anderson on the right. Meanwhile, Christian Dvorak inherited Cole Caufield and sophomore Juraj Slafkovsky. An interesting mix to say the least.
For the first time in six games, the Canadiens scored the first goal of the game thanks to a nifty play from the first line and Mike Matheson’s offensive instinct. As Newhook used his speed to get the puck on the side of the net, Matheson smelt the opportunity and got into the slot to one-time Newhook’s perfect feed. After a tough stretch, the rearguard was back to his old self last night and added a pair of assists before the end of the night, being on the scoreboard for the Habs’ three goals in the 3-2 overtime win.
Nick Suzuki scored on a power play goal 26 seconds into the third period after the Wings had dominated the second frame, tying the game up by failing to get the lead thanks to a great performance by Cayden Primeau. The youngster was only playing his second game of the season and the starts have been few and far between for him, but he takes it all in his stride, saying that a professional hockey player must always be ready when his team call upon him.
Back to Suzuki’s power play goal, it’s got to be said that he finally shot the puck instead of simply trying to feed Cole Caufield. Suzuki has scored a few goals from the face-off circle on the power play last season, but until last night he seemed to have forgotten that, or he just felt Caufield should always be the one to shoot. Whatever it was, the captain worked his magic, scoring a goal down low and eating the cross bar from the same position later in the game.
A little over five minutes later, the Red Wings managed to tie up the score again and an intense third period followed, but no one could find the back of the net again. In overtime, the Canadiens got a power play from one of the weirdest plays I’ve ever seen. As Cole Caufield was trying to race back to his zone, he collided with Detroit’s goalie James Reimer and for some reason, the masked man thought it would be a good idea to go down on Caufield’s stick, taking him completely out of the play. The refs had no choice but to give the goalie a two-minute minor.
In the last minute of the extra frame, Caufield resisted the urge to unload a one-timer as it wouldn’t make it to the net and gave himself a shooting lane to beat Reimer on his left, Canadiens 3, Red Wings 2.
I have a feeling we’ll see these new lines again on Saturday when the Bruins will be the opponents at the Bell Centre. Even though Juraj Slafkovsky didn’t get on the scoresheet, he was very visible last night, and it feels like he could have some chemistry with Cole Caufield. The young Slovak was also willing to sacrifice his own body, blocking three shots throughout the game.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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