HabsWorld.net --
The start of the second round wasn’t great for the Habs in the season opener but they bounced back nicely to take a series lead after the first week with their offence springing to life over the last two games.
The Week That Was
May 6: Sabres 4, Canadiens 2 – After a series against Tampa Bay that saw Jakub Dobes dominate, he got off to a rough start to this round, allowing four goals on nine shots before the midway mark of the second period. After a tough first round with the man advantage, the Sabres scored twice on the power play and while Nick Suzuki picked up one of his own, it wasn’t enough to make the difference.
May 8: Canadiens 5, Sabres 1 – Things went a lot better for Montreal in this one, especially at the start. Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson both scored in the opening five minutes of the game while Newhook added another early in the second to put them in control. Zach Benson got one back in the middle frame but Alexandre Carrier dashed any hopes of a comeback with a perfectly-placed shot on the rush early in the third to help tie up the series.
May 10: Canadiens 6, Sabres 2 – This time, Buffalo got off to a quick start with Tage Thompson scoring in the opening minute. But Newhook tied it up before the end of the frame before a rare strong second period helped the Habs really gain control of the game. They scored three times, including twice on the power play, including a much-needed one from Cole Caufield. Kirby Dach added a key insurance marker in the third to help secure the win before things got a little heated at the end.
StatPack
Skaters:
| # | Player | GP | G | A | +/- | PIMS | SOG | ATOI |
| 8 | Mike Matheson | 3 | 1 | 0 | +3 | 0 | 4 | 24:17 |
| 13 | Cole Caufield | 3 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 7 | 17:50 |
| 14 | Nick Suzuki | 3 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 2 | 11 | 20:16 |
| 15 | Alex Newhook | 3 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 2 | 12 | 16:47 |
| 17 | Josh Anderson | 3 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 12 | 4 | 15:14 |
| 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 3 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 9 | 18:36 |
| 21 | Kaiden Guhle | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 18 | 1 | 19:02 |
| 24 | Phillip Danault | 3 | 0 | 2 | +4 | 0 | 4 | 14:51 |
| 45 | Alexandre Carrier | 3 | 1 | 1 | +4 | 4 | 1 | 20:58 |
| 48 | Lane Hutson | 3 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 4 | 8 | 22:44 |
| 53 | Noah Dobson | 3 | 0 | 1 | E | 0 | 8 | 19:25 |
| 71 | Jake Evans | 3 | 0 | 3 | +4 | 0 | 7 | 15:11 |
| 72 | Arber Xhekaj | 3 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 4 | 2 | 8:08 |
| 76 | Zachary Bolduc | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 12:39 |
| 77 | Kirby Dach | 3 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 16 | 2 | 10:33 |
| 85 | Alexandre Texier | 3 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 0 | 1 | 11:34 |
| 90 | Joe Veleno | 3 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 0 | 3 | 10:28 |
| 93 | Ivan Demidov | 3 | 0 | 2 | +2 | 0 | 3 | 15:30 |
Goalies:
| # | Player | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
| 75 | Jakub Dobes | 2-1-0 | 2.38 | .904 | 0 |
Playoff Team Leaders:
Goals: Alex Newhook (5)
Assists: Lane Hutson (7)
Points: Nick Suzuki (9)
+/-: Alexandre Texier (+7)
PIMS: Kaiden Guhle (30)
Shots: Juraj Slafkovsky (27)
News And Notes
– The Habs recalled their Black Aces from Laval. Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher are the defencemen coming up and will be joined by forwards Owen Beck and Arber Xhekaj.
– Montreal’s Game 3 victory snapped a league-record streak of nine games of alternating wins and losses to open up the postseason.
– Arber Xhekaj was fined $3,385.42 for his punch on Sam Carrick at the end of Game 3. The amount is one-half of one day’s pay. Beck Malenstyn, meanwhile, was fined $3,515.63 for running into Jakub Dobes.
Last Game’s Lines:
Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Evans – Demidov
Texier – Danault – Anderson
Bolduc – Veleno – Dach
Matheson – Carrier
Guhle – Hutson
Xhekaj – Dobson
Semi-Final Thought
Montreal’s usage of Noah Dobson since he returned to the lineup has been telling in terms of how injured he still is. While they played him more than 24 minutes in Game 1, his other three games in the postseason have all been between 16:20 and 18:27. For context, he averaged more than 22 minutes per night during the regular season and has been below that in three of four games. In terms of ATOI, he’s fifth, ahead of only Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj. While it’s great to see him back in the lineup (and even at full health, he’s a better option than Struble and Xhekaj), it looks like it’ll be a while yet before he’ll be able to be used like he normally is. Here’s hoping the Habs last long enough for that to happen.
Final Thought
I have to admit, I was a little surprised that Oliver Kapanen didn’t get a look in the first few games of the series. I thought taking Brendan Gallagher out made some sense given his very limited usage but with Ivan Demidov not doing much offensively and the expectation that this series would be more free-flowing, I thought Kapanen might have come in instead of Joe Veleno.
Yes, Kapanen struggled considerably down the stretch and the crazy-high shooting percentage that was bound to come down at some point finally came down. But for someone who was trusted throughout the season, sitting him for now six games in a row and counting seems a little harsh to me.
Don’t get me wrong, Veleno has played fine in the first few games of this series. He made a nice play to set up a goal on Sunday and between that and a general hesitance to change a winning lineup, I don’t expect Kapanen to get back in on Tuesday. But I’m hoping he gets a chance to come back before much longer. He has had plenty of time for a reset but his play through an 82-game regular season warrants another opportunity at some point.
