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In Hainsight: Costly Loss to the Panthers |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The Canadiens looked every bit like an exhausted team in the third period last night. They put up a good fight in the first two frames and were only trailing 1-0 after 40 minutes, but within 30 seconds in the third, they were down by 2-0 and had lost Alex Newhook. It was a tough night for the Newfoundlander, he had an awkward fall in the first in which his leg bent under him, but he got right back up. It almost looked like the injury ninja wasn’t done with him after he dodged that bullet and struck again in the third.
The forward was competing for a puck when he fell in the Panthers net and his ankle bent in a weird way. Newhook was unable to exit the ice and his own or walk back to the room and it’s hard not to believe he’ll be out for some time.
That’s a big loss for the Habs as Newhook had been very productive lately and was headed for the best season of his career. It’s the second top six forward the Canadiens lost this season after losing Kirby Dach in the second game of the year. From that point on, the Cats didn’t let off and got a 5-1 win.
Cayden Primeau who had played rather well in the first two frames, wavered in the last. It’s hard not to think the Cats did their video homework and identify a weakness in the young goalie has they scored four goals glove side that looked exactly the same. In the end, he conceded five goals on just 29 shots for a meager .828 save percentage. If the rumors are true and the Canadiens end up moving Samuel Montembeault, they better hope that one of the goalies they selected at the last draft pans out because Primeau just isn’t consistent enough to stick in the NHL and be a reliable number two, let alone a number one.
Once again last night, the Habs were unable to convert on their scoring chances. Juraj Slafkovsky, who’s playing the best hockey of his young career these days, needs to find the confidence to shoot on odd-man rushes. Yes, Cole Caufield is the Canadiens’ sniper, but when he’s coming on a two on one and the defenseman has covered the pass, he has to shoot. We’ve seen him decide to pass in these circumstances three times in the last couple of weeks. Slafkovsky’s shot was one of the reasons why the Canadiens picked him first overall, he must believe in himself and take the shot.
Josh Anderson, who’s still looking for his first goal of the season, had lost his place on the first power play unit and it seemed to give him a boost of energy. In 14 minutes of ice time, he didn’t manage to get a shot on net, but he was a very physical presence, landing five hits. Clearly, the man is frustrated these days and with less than a minute left in the game, he fought Jonah Gadjovich. The big power forward landed quite a few punches after cutting himself on Gadjovich’s helmet. Hopefully that allowed him to get rid of some of the frustration he feels.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday when they take on the Red Wings in Montreal. Today, the players have a day off and no media availability is scheduled, meaning that we’ll probably have to wait until Saturday to know more about Newhook’s injury.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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