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After a frustrating loss in New York on Saturday, the Habs’ coaching staff responded to being questioned by the media and fan base by being quite critical of the defensive effort of their own players. That criticism was definitely heard as the Canadiens applied their defensive system quite well throughout their Sunday evening game against the lethal Edmonton Oilers.

Montreal was forced to play multiple defensive shifts early due to its own lack of discipline, evidently displaying a lack of long-term memory after they lost to the Oilers due to crazy bad penalties earlier this season. Overall, they overcame the early indiscipline as they were definitely the team that displayed the most urgency and attention to detail as they won 4-1.

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Zack Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen – Ivan Demidov
Alexandre Texier – Jake Evans — Josh Anderson
Joe Veleno — Owen Beck — Brendan Gallagher

Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson — Alexandre Carrier
Jayden Struble – Adam Engstrom 

Jakub Dobes 

10 Thoughts

1) The story of the first was Montreal’s penalty killing group. Not usually a strong point, they were able to withstand a full two minutes of 5-on-3 hockey against the league’s third-ranked power play. They were able to kill the penalties thanks to superb saves by Dobes and some excellent puck retrievals by Evans and Matheson. The penalty kill had to stand tall once again in the final moments of the period as the Habs continued to play with fire.

2) The Canadiens also missed on their own power play in the period and though the shots in the period were 12-10 for Edmonton, Montreal played a strong period at even strength as their defensive coverage, specifically on the two Oilers’ stars, was quite strong. The Habs also missed a breakaway chance from Anderson. 

3) A strong forecheck by Demidov to start the second period led to a power play. After a give-and-go with Slafkovsky, Demidov was given far too much time and space as he skated to the faceoff dot and wired home a wrist shot over Pickard’s shoulder with Slafkovsky providing an excellent screen. Immediately following the goal, Calvin Pickard made strong stops on two Suzuki breakaways. Texier added his own breakaway and made another strong play at the net, but Pickard once again stood tall. 

4) After a second power play was dangerous for the Habs despite not scoring, Veleno won three consecutive puck battles before Connor McDavid was guilty of an egregious giveaway in the heart of the slot in his defensive zone. Veleno accepted the gift and fired home a wrist shot over Pickard’s glove. The Habs ended the period with a penalty as Darnell Nurse ran interference on Anderson who grabbed him to not push from behind and was called for a hold. By the end of the second period, the Habs’ strong play was no longer a quality remark, but it was measurable by the 22-18 shot advantage. 

5) Montreal started the third period shorthanded but save for a single one-timer opportunity that Dobes stopped on Leon Draisaitl, the Habs completed another strong kill that left the Oilers frustrated. That frustration boiled over when Trent Frederic committed a dangerous cross-check on Carrier that sent him into the boards. Carrier was lucky to skate away without injury, but then Frederic tried to fight Anderson over his dangerous hit. Anderson responded well, allowing the sequence to end with Frederic as the only penalized player.  

6) The Habs were a bit more opportunistic on their chance as a strong zone entry by Caufield and Hutson got Slafkovsky the puck in the high slot. He faked the shot and found a streaking Suzuki who beat Alec Regula to the net. Slafkovsky’s pass was on the money and Suzuki had a tap-in on the back door. With a 3-0 lead, the Habs were unlucky as Demidov’s stick wandered and caught Nurse in the face for yet another Oilers man advantage. This time, Zach Hyman jumped on a rebound and made it 3-1 with 7:30 to play.

7) Edmonton’s push was short-lived as a strong gap on Frederic caused a turnover at the Montreal blue line. Frederic panicked and reached in on Texier. This mattered little as Texier took off with Gallagher on a 2-on-1 with a delayed penalty. Texier opted to shoot and made no mistake, burying a shot low blocker on Pickard to restore the three-goal lead. 

8) If the defensive urgency was rightfully criticized by the coaching staff on Saturday, it was quite excellent on Sunday. The number of shifts where the Habs played in their own zone in the third without giving up quality scoring chances was exactly what a coaching staff would want, knowing the struggling Oilers would push at some point in the period. Edmonton pulled Pickard for the final five minutes of play. The Habs missed several chances at the empty net, but they also gave up a few good scoring chances. They played strong defensively and Dobes made a few more strong saves to end the night with a 4-1 win. In the end, both teams were even at 28 shots apiece. 

9) Alexandre Carrier has come under fire of late as he’s proven to be an inadequate partner for the younger defenders trying to find a role on the blue line. He hasn’t been a very good partner for Xhekaj or Struble who have both struggled at times this season. Inexplicably, the coaching staff decided that the solution was to be a promotion for Carrier. However, he had one of the best nights of the season during this game. So perhaps the coaching staff had the right idea with the adjustment of his role. Perhaps Carrier needs to play with a better player and to be a support player as opposed to being a leader on a lesser pairing. Long term, that likely punches his ticket out of town, but for now, it might solve some problems on the team’s blue line. 

10) Recent noise about Montreal’s system of play should be put to rest after watching this game. The system works when applied properly as indicated by reports that a third of the league plays a variation of this system. For a fan base that mocked the coach as a pee-wee coach when he was initially hired, I find it a bit strange that they now want a pee-wee simple defensive scheme as opposed to the more demanding one used by the better teams around the league. For Habs fans who want to criticize the coaching staff, the more worrisome trends are decisions that can be directly tied to “trying not to lose a game” like deploying Evans in overtime, or the simple falling in love with certain players. Those were two trends that St. Louis didn’t follow when there were no expectations on the team, and it was one of the more endearing qualities about him as a coach throughout his early tenure. Strange what a bit of expectations and pressure will do to one’s courage.   

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Juraj Slafkovsky 

Since the start of the season, Slafkovsky has been one of the best forwards on this team, and a recent surge has his numbers finally reflecting his strong start to the season. It was another strong one on this night as he appeared to have the puck on his stick, making things happen on every shift. Perhaps this is helped by the fact that he seems to be an important part of the two different set-ups that the team has on the top power play. He’s a bumper presence when Suzuki and Caufield pass it left. He’s also a net-front presence when Hutson and Demidov play catch on the right. Nice position for him to be in. 

Stats: 2 assists, even, 3 shots, 1 hit, 16:28 T.O.I. 

2nd Star – Jakub Dobes 

Dobes continues his roller coaster season where he looks like a bona fide starter on some nights and like an AHL backup on others. It was the former on this night as he made stellar saves early which allowed the Habs to find their legs and not get down on themselves despite the early 5-on-3. The team took over in the second, so Dobes got a break. With a lead in place, Edmonton pushed back and Dobes would have none of it, preserving a rare comfortable win for the home side. 

Stats: 27 saves on 28 shots, 1 goal against, .964 save %, 60:00 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Alexandre Texier 

When Texier was first placed in an offensive role, many in the fan base wondered what the coach was thinking. Turns out that Texier has been an excellent fit on this team and he seems to be a positive influence on whatever line he is placed with. He finally scored Montreal’s fourth goal on this night, but he could have easily scored another three prior to his goal, and he also made a few really strong defensive plays. If the Habs can find a player closer to Columbus Texier as opposed to St. Louis Texier, it will be an excellent free agent addition. 

Stats: 1 goal, +1, 5 shots, 1 hit, 14:17 T.O.I.