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The teams with the best and worst records in the Eastern Conference met Tuesday for a memorable clash. Battling back from 3-0 in the second period, the Canadiens had many facets to their game tonight but they were defeated by the Flyers 5-4 in the shootout in a shootout of a game.

Both teams had periods of dominance during this contest, but Montreal certainly will believe they let this one slip away after going up 4-3 in the second. They were resilient in the face of significant adversity, and in years past, they certainly would have folded. The Habs earned a point and will look to continue building on the positive aspects of a hard-fought Tuesday night at home.

Starting Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Kapanen – Demidov
Bolduc – Dach – Gallagher
Veleno – Evans – Anderson

Struble – Hutson
Matheson – Dobson
Xhekaj – Carrier

Montembeault (Starting) – Dobes (Backup)

10 Thoughts

1) Bobby Brink produced an admirable deflection over Samuel Montembeault’s right shoulder to give the Flyers the lead early in the game. Travis Sanheim’s perfect pass was a result of good work from the Flyers forechecker to pressure Jayden Struble to hurriedly send a pass along the wall to Brendan Gallagher, but the puck skipped over his stick directly to the opposition. Cam York gained possession and delivered the puck across the blue line to Sanheim. Sanheim spotted Brink in the middle of the slot, and Alex Newhook had his stick pointed in the opposite direction, giving Travis Sanheim the perfect lane to pass and Brink was slapping his stick on the ice.

2) Mike Matheson, a steady hand on the blue line so far this year, was harangued for a loathsome delay of game penalty to put the Flyers on the man advantage. Although the Habs earned an early clear, only 20 seconds later, Noah Dobson took a cross-checking penalty against Brink while scrumming in the corner of the Habs zone. Philadelphia capitalized in the offensive zone, as Arber Xhekaj was unable to clear a rebound and Trevor Zegras sent a behind-the-back pass to York’s one-timer. In three shots, the Flyers were up 2-0, and came right back down the ice on the remaining penalty. Zegras sent a shot into the crease where the Flyers outnumbered the Canadiens’ defenders, Noah Cates got a stick on it, and Brink doubled down on his first-period performance. Philadelphia now led by three, on five shots, before the first commercial break.

3) Nick Seeler was called for interference on Brendan Gallagher for a completely unnecessary pick as the puck was carried behind the net in the Flyers’ zone, giving the Canadiens an early opportunity to get back in the game. As Montreal began the power play, Ivan Demidov was involved in all of the puck movement and showcased his talent, but was unable to penetrate the middle. Philadelphia was able to clear after a few periphery chances and chased the first unit before they could make a dent in the lead. The second unit fared no better against the league’s number one penalty killing unit.

4) With five minutes remaining in the first, the Canadiens had achieved a power play, a single shot on net, and a very quiet building, while they faced a confident Flyers team with three on the board after nine shots on the home team’s purported starting goaltender. The Habs spent the remainder of the final two minutes either with the puck below their own line along the wall, bobbling pucks in their own slot, and giving up high-grade chances directly on their goaltender. In the first shift of the second period, the Canadiens turned the puck over and give up three quality chances, and then an icing.

5) The Habs were eventually able to get their legs under them with the pace of play, as Philadelphia was unrelenting in their pursuit. After chaining possession time in the neutral zone and pushing the visitors blue line, the Dach – Gallagher – Bolduc line began the attack. Zach Bolduc carried the puck into the zone along the wall and curled, but his pass to Gallagher in the slot was interrupted. Dach was net-front, retrieved the loose puck, and broke out to the hashmarks as the rest of the Canadiens spread out in the offensive zone. Dach sent a cross-seam pass to Dobson, whose shot went wide. The bounce, however, went right back to Dach, who beat the sprawling Dan Vladar to get the Canadiens on the board. Following the goal, Martin St. Louis deployed his top line and Cole Caufield was able to draw a holding penalty on Sanheim on the forecheck. Caufield may be small, but his size often draws these types of penalties against his larger counterparts on defense. The Canadiens gained possession in the zone and passed the puck around the perimeter between Hutson, Slafkovsky, and Demidov. Hutson started off the scoring play by moving it to the bottom of the circle and Suzuki moved the puck low to Caufield, who sent it across to Demidov. The pass was just out of reach of Demidov to take on the move, but he was able to push it back to Suzuki, and the captain brought Montreal within one.

6) Sean Couturier was called for tripping 180 feet from his own goaltender with 12:32 remaining in the second. Philly won the faceoff and got an early clear, but the top unit came right back into the zone and worked the puck low in the zone. After more of the same excellent movement, Nick Suzuki tried to lay a pass across the blue paint to Slafkovsky, but was unable to get it through. After the whistle, Slafkovsky and Garnet Hathaway – noted heavyweight – had an intellectual disagreement about who has stronger arms and faces, resulting in them both being shuttled off to the box in offsetting roughing penalties. Montreal remained on the power play, although they were unable to gain significant zone time as Bolduc replaced the Slovakian. During one of the clearing attempts, Christian Dvorak found himself on the receiving end of a devastating Suzuki open ice hit that had the Bell Centre cheering.

7) Joe Veleno was rung up for a hit to the head on Jamie Drysdale halfway through the second period, potentially stifling all momentum achieved by the home squad. The Canadiens held the passing lanes strongly with their sticks, but left a vulnerable opening along the goal line in front of Montembeault that has been exposed in the past. The goaltender had to stand strong. Killing off the penalty, Montreal stormed right back and put the pressure on the defenders. Veleno came out of the box and immediately made the Philadelphia back-checkers rush into their zone, establishing the pace. Gallagher won a puck battle along the wall, and cycled the puck down to the goal line and Bolduc, who moved up to Gallagher’s spot and passed across the zone to Struble. The defender dropped the puck to his partner, Lane Hutson, who took Jacob Gaucher for a walk before banking the puck behind him off Vladar’s paddle to Dach. Dach was able to tuck it past the goaltender, evening the score. With a little less than five minutes remaining in the second, Brink was called for a slewfoot tripping penalty on Demidov. The young Russian winger did not hesitate to cash in on the power play. The Flyers were not able to clear a puck from behind their own net, and Hutson held the line. He mishandled the puck and left it at his feet, but was able to recover and send it across to Slafkovsky, who fed Demidov coming down the circle. Demidov sent his shot over Vladar’s left shoulder bar down to put the Habs on top and come all the way back from a three-goal deficit. Canadiens fans are hoping to see precisely this player doing precisely these things for the next decade.

8) On the backcheck, Dach was cut off by Owen Tippett and reached in on his hands, and was subsequently called for a holding penalty with 2:29 remaining in the second period. Contrary to the first, all of the bounces and puck battles went Montreal’s way, Evans and Anderson were able to cut off passes, and Newhook even had a golden shorthanded opportunity that he was handcuffed on. Just after the penalty expires, Montreal’s defensive scheme broke down under the pressure of Philadelphia’s attack, and Montembeault was forced to make a massive pad save on his former teammate in Dvorak. The netminder slid across the crease to stone the forward, and sent the Habs to the locker room leading by one.

9) Montembeault and Vladar had to be sharp to start the third period, and both teams were looking to dominate the opening and determine the course of the rest of the contest. Both teams exchanged odd-man rushes, weak-side chances, and enormous rebounds perfectly placed in the slot. Eventually, Cole Caufield was called for “boarding” on Jamie Drysdale. The penalty killers went back to work, meaning Evans won another faceoff, clear, and the first minute of the disadvantage. The second unit had some scary moments, and Montembeault heard his name chanted on after two magnificent back-door stops. With 9:09 remaining in the third, the Flyers returned to the score sheet as Montreal’s netminder had his stick knocked away by Alexandre Carrier. The Habs were able to clear the zone during the play, but Philly quickly recovered the puck and transitioned back into the zone. Nikita Grebenkin took a drop pass from Travis Konecny as they entered the zone, and took a seeing-eye shot from the top of the slot to beat Montembeault on his stick side, bringing the game back to even at 4-4.

10) For the sixth game of the young season, the game needed to be decided in the extra frame. Both teams had an exciting overtime, and Montembeault had to make an excellent pad save on Konecny, but the game was ultimately concluded in the shootout. Montreal was unable to finish on some dazzling moves, but better saves from Vladar, and Zegras beat Montembeault five-hole to ensure the victory for the visitors.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Kirby Dach – Dach scored both the first goal to get the comeback started and the tying goal to make it 3-3. He brought a high level of intensity and skill all game and drove his line to produce at even strength. Dach has been playing to his potential the past few games, and it was excellent that he was able to get rewarded on the scoresheet.

Stats: 2 goals, +1 rating, 4 shots, 1 BLK, 13:29 TOI

2nd Star: Ivan Demidov – Demidov was instrumental in engineering Montreal’s offensive output during the game. He created Suzuki’s goal from his vision and was magical for his own tally. Furthermore, he also played a great even-strength game, pursuing pucks and winning battles. It is invaluable to this team if his game encompasses all of those elements consistently.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +/- 0 rating, 3 shots, 15:21 TOI

3rd Star: Samuel Montembeault – Regardless of the first period’s showing, the Canadiens easily could have lost this game in regulation if not for the saves and steady presence of their goaltender. He settled into his net and calmly stopped numerous high-danger chances and gave his team a chance to win after the first ten minutes.

Stats: 38 SV, .908 SV%