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Montreal clashed with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night in another four-point contest. Both teams continue to anxiously scratch and claw for every point, with Thursday being no different in principle. In practice, the scratching and clawing took place only between scrums as both teams were hesitant and defensive once the puck was dropped.

Joe Veleno drew back into the lineup to fill in for a day-to-day Josh Anderson, likely banged up from a very physical month of hockey against playoff teams. Jakub Dobes delivered another quality start for the Habs, but they managed to lose their first game in regulation this season when the goaltending was above .900. The depth of the Canadiens has all but evaporated these last few games, leading to Montreal’s playoff push now being in danger of collapsing.

Montreal’s Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Kapanen – Demidov
Texier – Evans – Bolduc
Veleno – Danault – Gallagher

Matheson – Dobson
Struble – Hutson
Guhle – Carrier

Jakub Dobes

10 Thoughts

1) After an early rebound was kept out by the crossbar, Dobes watched his forwards put the pressure on John Gibson at the other end of the ice. Each of the forward lines earned a shot and stoppage, Brendan Gallagher’s tip being the best of the chances. James van Riemsdyk and Kaiden Guhle were sent to the penalty box for opposing minors after getting tangled near the Detroit bench. The Red Wings tried to feed shots from the point through to Dobes, but there was very little ice for either team to work in.

2) Tentatively, both squads probed the offensive zone but held defencemen high in the neutral zone. Montreal was more active during the first period, jumping and creating more turnovers with a definitive forecheck that they had been victimized by during the past week of the season. The scrum that took place with less than two minutes to go was far from tentative, however. Zach Bolduc, Jake Evans, and Alexandre Texier executed a wonderful passing play to put a slot shot on Gibson and get the puck through some tired defenders. Ben Chiarot, as the puck was to the side of Gibson, shoved Evans into Gibson and knocked them both over, drawing the roughing call and the Canadiens advantage. Caufield had the first chance for the power play when Suzuki and Slafkovsky made two passes under pressure before getting it to him in the open ice, but neither group could beat Gibson before the end of the period.

3) The second period commenced how the majority of the first was played, and a bouncing puck led to Detroit’s first power play when Alexandre Carrier held Andrew Copp entering the slot. Instead of carrying the puck cleanly, it bounced and forced Copp to the outside and therefore Carrier’s arm on his hip. The penalty killers cleared the opening faceoff and Dobes stopped two long-range shots to break Detroit’s momentum. Danault was also dumped following a failed wraparound, but he characterized the kill for Montreal by pressuring Detroit before they were able to set up any cohesive system.

4) Montreal was rung up for another interference penalty as Hutson took another minor. His skates clipped Alex DeBrincat’s in the neutral zone as Suzuki carried the puck past, and control went right back to Detroit. Dobes stood tall early, blocked two shots and then a low chance from van Riemsdyk in his face. Kane missed with a long shot but another slap-pass to DeBrincat had to be caught midair by Dobes. Failing to clear again, Veleno and Noah Dobson blocked the final shots as Kaiden Guhle cleared Copp from the front of the net.

5) Following the successful penalty kill, the visitors began to push their game as the minutes dwindled in the second period. Montreal primarily focused on dumping the puck in, getting it back high to the point, firing it on net, and getting right to the net-front for the rebound. Evans’ line punished their counterparts for nearly a minute in Detroit’s zone by outworking them for the first and second loose puck after a shot, therefore establishing the flow of effort in the shift and taking away the hope of a change. Evans was able to draw a holding the stick penalty before the Red Wings were able to relieve the pressure.

6) Juraj Slafkovsky opened the scoring in the game during the first possession of the power play. Montreal won the faceoff and immediately extended the play to the right side before executing a set play to score. Suzuki went to the top of the circle with the puck, passed to the goal line for Caufield, and Caufield immediately shoved the puck to the front of the net. The puck bounced off the inside post and to the slot for a waiting Slafkovsky, who did not miss underneath the bar to put Montreal ahead late in the second period.

7) A wrist shot from the further point inside the zone – along the blue next to the bench – bounced off Dobson and J.T. Compher to dribble past Dobes and even the game with approximately 17 minutes left in the third period. Jayden Struble and Moritz Seider were both called for roughing minors following a scrum in front of Dobes. A seemingly innocuous play and routine stop from the netminder led to another two minutes of four-on-four play that opened up some ice but not more scoring for the fans in attendance.

8) Over the next several minutes, Bolduc clipped Gibson high again, leading the goaltender to complain expressively. Carrier missed the net by two feet from ten feet out after Suzuki gifted him a glorious open chance in the slot. Dobes made a spectacular save on DeBrincat in the slot with the right pad after a defensive breakdown left Simon Edvinsson alone.

9) While the spectators could certainly lament missed chances by each team that could have provided more offence, the coaching staffs of both were likely satisfied with the defensive performances. Dobes made a prime stop on Marco Kasper when he tried to finish a broken play that involved a shot by Kane and a vicious cross-check by Evans. The forward couldn’t close the game when he rushed and missed a wide open net when the puck bounced to him after Hutson drove to the net.

10) DeBrincat scored Detroit’s go-ahead goal with 3:25 left in the third period. Mike Matheson could not settle the puck as it bounced past Dobson, then he fell as he tried to pivot. DeBrincat was chasing the puck as well, and he subsequently took the free puck and danced Dobes to get the Wings their first lead of the game. Copp potted the empty net goal with just over 30 seconds left to prevent a late comeback.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Juraj Slafkovsky

Slafkovsky scored Montreal’s only marker of the game and was noticeable throughout the match. He was heavy on the puck during his shifts and supported the top line during a tight game without many chances.

Stats: 1 goal, -2 rating, 5 shots, 1 block, 2 hits, 19:58 TOI

2nd Star: Jakub Dobes

Dobes was not able to steal the game for the Canadiens, but he made the saves he was supposed to make and gave Montreal a chance for the breadth of the contest. He blocked and kept out the wild caroms and deflections in the first period, and did nothing to lose them their momentum.

Stats: 2 GA, 25 SV, .926 SV%

3rd Star:  Nick Suzuki

The Captain was steady during his shifts and did not turn the puck over in front of his goaltender. He was 14/24 in the faceoff circle against a team with experienced and quality centres, reinforcing my thesis that Danault is obsolete in offensive situations for faceoffs only.

Stats: 1 assist, -2 rating, 1 hit, 21:24 TOI