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The Montreal Canadiens returned to NHL play on Thursday, a few Olympic medals heavier than before, with both Canada and Finland coming up short against the Americans last week. Les Habitants Captain, Nick Suzuki, earned a silver medal with the Canadian squad in Italy, and his play looked like it hadn’t missed a beat without the break the rest of the roster got. The Canadiens came away from the game with just one point, blowing the lead in the third period as the Islanders pushed with their extra man.

Samuel Montembeault was in the starting crease, following a two-week span of time reminiscent of the phased-out bye-week. He outperformed the defenders in front of him, as is often the case in October-like games, but couldn’t get the final save to earn his team the second point in overtime. As the NHL approaches the trade deadline, the play of each roster member will be scrutinized to examine what the most efficient methods of surgery could be to improve this hockey club.

Habs Lineup

Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Kirby Dach
Juraj Slafkovsky – Oliver Kapanen — Ivan Demidov
Josh Anderson – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher
Alex Texier – Jake Evans — Alex Newhook

Mike Matheson – Kaiden Guhle
Lane Hutson — Noah Dobson
Jayden Struble – Alexandre Carrier 

Samuel Montembeault 

10 Thoughts

1) Both teams were counting on solid starts as they looked to solidify playoff spots in their respective divisions. The Habs faithful got their first look (at home) at Matthew Schaefer, the phenomenal rookie defender matching up against Montreal’s own Ivan Demidov for the Calder Trophy this season. Alex Newhook also returned to the lineup and got himself involved in a scrum for Montreal’s first chance on Ilya Sorokin when Jake Evans spun backwards towards the net. The Islanders pushed early and stole pucks from some sloppy passes by the Canadiens defenders, and the first few minutes of the game in general looked similar to the quality one would see in October. The visitors almost took the early lead they were looking for on a feed from Schaefer to Marc Gatcomb. Phillip Danault coughed the puck up while trying to clear the zone, but Schaefer was offside prior to the play, and the Habs ensuing offside challenge was successful in taking the goal down.

2) Minutes later, Tony DeAngelo whiffed on a glorious chance that deflected his way off the morass of bodies piling up in front of Montembeault. DeAngelo was in precisely the same spot as Nathan MacKinnon was when he missed the empty cage behind Connor Hellebuyck in Milan, only the defender sent the puck opposite the Avalanche forward and back into Montembeault’s feet. It seems scoring on command into an open net is harder than it appears. The Habs got themselves two quick chances around the 12-minute mark of the first off the stick of Lane Hutson, whose dynamic skating and puck control fed both Newhook and Anderson for slot shots on Sorokin. The Canadiens then spent the next three minutes of the period in the Islanders’ zone during a continuous shift, passing around but not through the exhausted visitors running two-minute shifts. Montreal’s top line cycled the puck after Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, and Danault earned the zone for them, but Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki struggled to penetrate or take a chance with the puck. Matheson dashed into the slot but just lost the handle as he cut directly to Sorokin. Suzuki sent a far shot from the top of the zone, looking for a tip from linemate Kirby Dach, but Sorokin easily gloved the play down, and the Islanders escaped without any damage and got a rest in the form of a TV timeout immediately following.

3) Not to be denied in the first, Noah Dobson opened the real scoring two shifts later. New York had iced the puck, but Suzuki lost the following faceoff and possession. Attempting to change, the Islander defender looped the puck high to the neutral zone, straight to Hutson at his own blueline. He gloved the puck down, and then hit Dobson with the puck as he swung wide to the wing as the entire Isles line changed. With plenty of open ice in front of him, the smooth-skating defender burst forward and was untouched all the way to the left circle and ripped a wrist shot under Sorokin’s glove and put the Habs up by one.

4) Montembeault executed two spectacular saves late in the first, first needing to kick out his right pad on a deflection by Dobson in front of the net via a DeAngelo shot, and then his left on the immediate rebound. The “Monty” deservedly chants rained down from the gallery, and Suzuki nearly struck back quickly afterwards with a half-break after an Islanders’ giveaway. He also put his shot just over the pad, but he went for the blocker side and was denied by the not-actually-iron post (they’re really made of galvanized steel or aluminum). Montreal took the lead at 7:49 with the Dobson goal and played out the remainder of the period with their skates pushing the gas pedal to the frame, despite a few defensive lapses.

5) Newhook and Slafkovsky started out the second period with dominant shifts and chances through the middle of the neutral zone and into the Isles zone. The New York defenders allowed wide gaps for the Montreal forwards, and Sorokin was called upon early to cut down another rush from Suzuki before he could retrieve the puck. Montreal had a goal of their own called back when Caufield kicked the puck, very much like a soccer player, with the side of his foot but rather behind him. Caufield was behind the goal line and the puck had been ricocheted off the backboards following a Suzuki shot. Kirby Dach had made the entire play happen by stopping up inside the circle to lose his man, then fed the captain as he was skating downhill into the zone. The puck went to the front of the net and then perfectly bumped off Sorokin’s pad into the back of the net.

6) Montembeault shut down a chance from Jonathan Drouin during the Islanders’ best chance of the period so far, blocking a high shot from the slot and then paddling the rebound out of the air and nearly out of the zone. The first penalty of the hockey game came when Scott Mayfield hooked Anderson as he tried to get his stick on the fluttering shot of Gallagher. Montreal had been pushing once more and outskating the visitors in their own zone. The top unit operated around Suzuki working the low circle and bouncing passes between himself and Hutson at the point. Despite two chances, it would be the second unit that added to the lead. Alexandre Texier operated the same position as Suzuki, except along the opposite circle. The puck was transferred between Texier, Dobson, and Gallagher, and Dobson hammered a calculated shot from Texier through the traffic and through Sorokin. Montreal’s top-tier power play had struck again, and Dobson now had two goals on his former team.

7) High-quality opportunities from Suzuki, Guhle, and Hutson characterized the latter half of the second period, including a jarring hit from Dach on Schaefer behind the play as the puck went up the ice. Suzuki and Guhle both had individual rushes that capitalized on more enormous defensive gaps. Tony DeAngelo drew New York’s first power play of the game when his stick was “slashed” out of his hand by Slafkovsky, despite the play being called as interference. Off the faceoff in the defensive zone, Mike Matheson immediately took a high-sticking penalty on Mathew Barzal by wrapping his stick around Barzal’s head and clipping his opposite cheek with the toe. Evans won the initial faceoff and cleared the puck, eating approximately 30 seconds of five-on-three time. Montembeault was on drives from Bo Horvat and Barzal, but Schaefer finally beat him with another wrist shot that fit right through Alexandre Carrier’s slightly bent legs.

8. With 1:09 remaining, Schaefer scored again to notch his 18th goal of the season. The incredible skating defenseman tied the game after carrying the puck through the entire neutral and offensive zones, wrapping behind the net before stopping near his own bench. He curled, took three strides towards the net, loaded up, and fired the puck through bodies screening Montembeault. With two goals in 55 seconds, the visitors stunned the home crowd and went to the dressing room with all the momentum.

9. Montreal’s goal scorer drew a tripping penalty less than thirty seconds into the third period as Simon Holmstrom took his legs out while pursuing the puck. The top unit was able to gain the zone but couldn’t keep it, the Islanders’ sticks taking out errant passes and Sorokin locking down any tight angles. Montembeault was forced to make another pad save as a blocked shot sent three Isles down the ice towards him, a save so forceful it created a rebound opportunity for the Canadiens if only Alex Newhook had been able to thread the two-on-one pass to Gallagher. Hutson nearly also got burned with a missed pinch, then got beaten by his former teammate Emil Heineman to the net.

10. A little before the eight-minute mark, another tripping penalty was called on Kyle MacLean 200 feet from the Isles’ own net as Matheson tried to curl around the right circle in front of Montembeault. The top unit went back to work, keeping the puck low and trying to get it through the crease but to no avail. Eventually, the unit spread the umbrella further and Slafkovsky pushed out to the centre hashmarks. He fired a one-timer, but another bloody stick break kept the shot from reaching the net. Demidov knocked the loose puck at the net, and it trickled through Sorokin’s legs to the crease behind him and right in front of Caufield, who couldn’t miss or fail to put the Habs back up by one with ten minutes remaining. As time trickled down in the final minutes of the game, the Islanders made their push. Sorokin was pulled with 2:15 remaining, and Slafkovsky was caught out on the ice once the play transitioned to control in their own zone. Suzuki buzzed around the high slot and blue line, trying to catch one of the passes through, but Schaefer was able to escape Slafkovsky on the opposite side and bounce a puck off Anders Lee’s chest to bounce past Montembeault and tie the game at three.

Bonus Overtime Thoughts!

Martin St. Louis started Hutson, Suzuki, and Danault for the faceoff – which he won. Caufield took his spot, and the group controlled all possession to earn two shots and lots of skating in circles. Eventually, Sorokin gloved down a shot from Suzuki, and the Islanders took advantage. They won the puck battle on the faceoff, and Schaefer sent Jean-Gabriel Pageau down the ice on a breakaway, easily outskating Danault and Texier before dancing Montembeault through the legs and ending the game.

HabsWorld Habs 3 Stars

1st Star – Samuel Montembeault

Critical saves during the first period, such as those on Barzal and Horvat, and then his stunning second-period pad saves highlighted the defensive lapses by the Canadiens skaters, but also his own preparedness. With another glove save on Pageau just as Montreal took the lead, Montembeault was a leader in his play and calm demeanor as the game progressed. He had very little chance on Schaefer’s goals due to screens and pathetic blocking attempts by his defensemen, and the tying goal in the third was a brutal deflection. He stopped Horvat on a break, and despite being beaten by Pageau in overtime, he earned himself a win that the forwards couldn’t deliver.

Stats: 4 GA on 26 shots, 3.91 GAA, .846 SV%

2nd Star –  Noah Dobson

Dobson’s goals and driving play established the offensive credibility of the Canadiens during the hockey game, and by beating Sorokin early with a wrist shot, he dispelled any mystique the elite goaltender might have been exuding to the home team.

Stats: 2 goals, -2, 3 shots, 1 block, 21:54 T.O.I. 

3rd Star – Nick Suzuki

Cole, Kirby, and Nick combined for some excellent chances during the contest, but Suzuki seemed to adopt a different type of professional game. He played with a dynamic we have rarely seen in the regular season, carrying the puck longer, his movement more urgent and perhaps even energetic, abandoning the long looping plays that often ended in primary assists. The newly-minted silver medalist drove his line’s play and frequently made Dach either irrelevant or vital to the play. Cole was able to keep up with his captain, but Suzuki truly took over while anywhere on the ice. It would be easy to imagine how his view may have shifted after exposure to the best players in the world and the gritty jam they played with at the Olympics.

Stats: -1, 6 shots, 3 hits, 24:38 T.O.I.