|
In Hainsight: Canucks Teach Habs a Lesson |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The road hadn’t been kind to the Canadiens since the start of this road trip and it didn’t change last night. The Canucks looked very much like a contending team last night, they played a solid and physical game dishing out 40 hits and managing to get 12 takeaways. As is often the case, Montreal didn’t help itself, visiting the penalty box too often, but at least, the penalty kill did a flawless job and Vancouver’s man advantage failed to produce. This is one side of the Canucks game which could and should be improved if they are to go deep into the playoffs. They are currently 14th in the league with a 22.1% success rate.
The Canucks were just fine dealing with the Canadiens at even strength, they struck twice in the last quarter of the first frame, thanks to Nikita Zadorov who notched his 5th and 6th goal of the season. With less than two minutes left in the second, Arber Xhekaj made a very questionable pass which resulted in another Vancouver goal, this one by Connor Garland. Samuel Montembeault would probably want that one back. Montreal bounced back right away when Cole Caufield took a shot from far out which Juraj Slafkovsky deflected behind Casey DeSmith. After 40 minutes the Canadiens were still down by two goals.
Vancouver played a nearly perfect third period, smothering the Canadiens who could only muster three shots on goal. The Canucks even added a fourth goal for good measure. Against one of the top teams in the league, the result is far from surprising, but there is still a positive side to this game. Slafkovsky’s goal, his 15th of the season was also his 38th point. Before the start of the season, I wrote I would be satisfied with the young Slovak’s season if he got to the 35th point and he has and then some. With 13 games left on the calendar, he’s sure to pad up his tally. The goal also kept his point streak going, it now stands at six games.
It's impossible to talk about this game without mentioning the officiating. I rarely criticize the zebras, but the missed call on the elbow to the head of Guhle was just blatant and no doubt hard to swallow for the young defenseman. Even more so considering how often he was targeted for the rest of the game. I’ll admit I expected Xhekaj to put an end to it, but the 23-year-old defenseman is not the same since returning from Laval. Granted, he used to take too many penalties, but there’s got to be a middle ground somewhere in there. Right now, he looks like a player skating on thin ice and worried of making a mistake.
Before the game, the Canadiens announced Joshua Roy would be missing four to six weeks of action with an upper-body injury. Roy had blocked a shot with his hand on Tuesday night in Edmonton, but the damage is nowhere near as bad as it was when Gallagher did that a few years back. The news essentially means Roy’s season is over, in the NHL at least. If the Rocket qualifies for the playoffs, he could be able to land a hand (no pun intended) but only if he gets the green light to return after four weeks. The American Hockey League season ends on April 21 and a playoffs run would be good for Laval’s young players, but qualifying won’t be easy. The first five teams in the North Division will enter the Spring dance, and right now, Laval is in sixth place, three points behind the Marlies who also have two games in hand.
The Canadiens are now off until Sunday night when they’ll take on the Kraken at 9:00 PM before wrapping up the current road trip on Tuesday against Colorado. That’s right, no Habs hockey this Saturday night, kind of a rehearsal for the numerous months to come prior to the next season.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»