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Canadiens Defeat Undefeated Panthers, Recap and Notes |
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Breathe everyone⊠Breathe. It happened. The Canadiens put in a solid all round effort last night against the Florida Panthers to finally get into the preseason win column. No firings, no trades, half an NHL line up, and a little more effort pushed the Habs past a Panthers team that included Barkov, Huberdeau, Trocheck, Ekblad, Yandle, and Luongo. Also, worth noting is that the Panthers were undefeated in regulation this preseason.
So, the winless team beat the undefeated team. I think that makes up for some of the divots in the ice so far this preseason right?
Paul Byron had a fantastic game. His speed and determination are incredible assets and they were on display big time tonight. The line of Shaw, Danault, and Byron was clicking in a big way last night starting in the first when a good offensive zone entry by Shaw and Danault led to a in tight 2 on 1 with Shaw threading a pass across the front of the net, through Aaron Ekblad, to Byron for a quick redirect of the puck to the back of the net.
I donât even want to discuss the goal the Panthers scored. A small shove on the shoulder is apparently enough for a professional skaters shins to flip upward and then slide 7 or so feet on his hands and knees, pushing himself, the puck, and the goalie into the net. Whatâs worse is the NHL just said this is a goal, get ready for a new strategy: Head first goalie bowling for goals.
Oh NHL, why do you like having the worst officiating in pro sports?
Moving on.
At the halfway point of the game Byron flashed his speed again after he and Martinsen took off on a short handed 2 on 1. Martinsen threw a perfect backhand pass through the Panthers defence man to Byron who slipped a sneaky backhander through Luongoâs pads as Byron cut across the front of the net.
The Habs final goal came in the first two minutes of the third when Jordie Benn ripped a hard pass (from his own icing line) to Andrew Shaw, who was just past center ice and behind his Panther coverage. Shaw managed to handle the hard pass perfectly before breaking in alone on Luongo and making a forehand to backhand deke that sent Luongo sprawling and the puck into the net. Game over. Habs win. We all slept well.
Stats and clips of goals here.
It was a perfect game by that line. In fact, it was a pretty good performance all around. Victor Mete looked good with Benn, and Benn had his best game of the preseason. Coincidence? Too early to tell, but Mete has skill, speed, and vision that has worked very well so far. He didnât have a perfect game but he did have a very good one. He jumped up into a couple plays with such speed. He uses head fakes and jukes while puck handling and itâs effective. He used his smarts and speed to jump up into one rush where he was able to take the puck through the slot, with one hand on his stick while the other fended off the defenders stick, and get a great scoring chance. It reminded me of a style of play the Canadiens used to have, and then dealt to Nashville. Not saying Mete is a future PK Subban, but his puck moving style, speed, and aggressiveness in the offensive zone reminded me a lot of PKâs brand.
Charlie Lindgren showed no signs of being injured last night. He made a couple show stopping saves while asserting himself very well in net. Lindgren is a gamer. Between him and McNiven the Canadiens have some solid insurance between the pipes. There may even be a possibility of Lindgren starting the year as Priceâs back up if Montoyaâs neck injury keeps him out.
Jerabek and Davidson also turned in a good game. Jerabek still gets my vote over Davidson to make the opening night roster, but it was great to see Davidson bounce back. After the game the team announced that Fucale, Scherbak, and McNiven were heading to Laval. This isnât to say that Scherbak had a bad game, in fact he played well with Galchenyuk. He made a couple boneheaded plays in the offensive zone where he had a clear scoring chance and tried to make a fancy pass instead that didnât work at all. That was about the only criticism I could make, just shoot when the goalie is moving and your look is clear.
The game was more reminiscent of a regular season game as the intensity cranked up as the game wore on. This led to the second half of the 3rd period being slowed down by scrums, brawls, and slashes. The Habs reminded me of last years successful teams during this time. They get a lead, play well, and donât tolerate any idiocy. Honestly, it felt like a regular season game and to get a win out of the first real game that had that intensity is worth more than 6 try out losses.
There is still a fair amount of skaters in camp so the Canadiens staff have some decisions to make, but the I think we can all see who is making the team: Hudon, Mete, and McCarron. I suppose one could argue that McCarron hasnât been as consistent as Hudon and Mete, but McCarron has improved as training camp went on. He is using his body more effectively in puck battles, he is large and mean, and he does have decent puck skill. The Habs need a player like that in the bottom 6, hopefully he can be developed into a Brian Boyle type player (I hope he and his family are coping well during this time).
***UPDATE: McCarron and Jerabek assigned to Laval***
The Canadiens close out the preseason schedule tonight at the Bell Centre against the Ottawa Senators.
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