After taking both ends of a split-squad set against Toronto on Saturday, the Habs were back in action on Monday in the Kraft Hockeyville game against Ottawa. Once again, Cole Caufield potted in the winner in overtime, giving Montreal the 3-2 victory.
While new preseason rules dictate that veterans can only play in two games, that doesn’t apply for special promotional contests. Accordingly, both teams were able to send largely NHL rosters without making anyone ineligible for Saturday’s split-squad contests against Ottawa. Montreal’s group lined up as follows:
Caufield-Suzuki-Newhook
Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov
Bolduc-Dach-Texier
Berard-F. Xhekaj-Pastujov
Engstrom-Dobson
Hutson-Reinbacher
Struble-A. Xhekaj
10 Thoughts
1) This was a big game for Samuel Montembeault. Not just because it was a hometown game but there’s a chance that this is his last appearance of the preseason. Allowing a goal from William Eklund on Ottawa’s first shot of the game wasn’t ideal. Yes, there was some blown coverage but he didn’t track it great either which didn’t help his cause. He didn’t face too many shots overall in a little over half the game, stopping seven of eight. He probably didn’t help or hurt his chances of securing the backup spot with that showing.
2) Montreal’s fourth line was buzzing in this one, especially early on. Yes, it’s three players fighting hard for a roster spot that may or not be there which is part of it. But they were active and aggressive and it played a big role in the equalizing goal. Florian Xhekaj threw a big hit behind Ottawa’s net while Brett Berard and Sasha Pastujov were in the mix. That led to a panicked pass from a Sens defender, right on Jayden Struble’s stick. He made no mistake quickly firing a shot past Samuel Ersson to tie the game. I’m not sure that is going to really make much of a difference in his lineup spot battle with Arber Xhekaj but it can’t hurt.
3) The second period wasn’t as sloppy as Saturday’s home game but the Habs weren’t particularly sharp. A couple of power plays didn’t yield much and overall, the offensive execution was spotty. It’s preseason, after all. Meanwhile, defensively, there were some cracks, allowing Ottawa to start to shift some momentum their way. Then, in the dying seconds of the frame, Juraj Slafkovsky lost Dylan Cozens in coverage, allowing the Ottawa centre to get a shot past Jakub Dobes to give the Sens the lead. That lapse in attention is something that will be making it onto the next film study, that’s for sure.
4) The third period saw the Habs return to controlling the game and eventually, they were rewarded for their efforts. On a power play, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson came in on the rush. Hutson found Caufield on the side with a pass. It looked like Caufield was trying to pass it back across but instead, he slipped a short-side shot past Ersson to tie the game. I’m particularly happy to see something work off the rush without the slingshot. Mixing things up on zone entries will make them more dangerous than just doing the predictable skate to centre, drop it back, then skate in approach.
5) Speaking of the power play, they weren’t able to capitalize on two other attempts late. I’m a little disappointed to see Cole Caufield still playing on the goal line, taking away his one-timer option. Yes, he can sneak in for tight-angle shots but it would be nice to see him back in the left-side faceoff dot for some one-timers as well. Again, mixing things up will be helpful but those power plays looked exactly like last season’s, the good and the bad of it.
6) With them not scoring on those chances, the game once again went to overtime. Once again, Montreal really controlled the puck. Multiple trios had lots of zone time and lots of chances. And, once again, it was Caufield taking a pass from Hutson and firing home the winner. Unlike the two-on-none on Saturday, this type of play is more repeatable in-season.
7) Florian Xhekaj certainly helped his cause tonight. He made a couple of plays early on the penalty kill, won some draws, and was noticeable with his physicality. This is the type of performance that the coaching staff could probably see themselves wanting at some point this season. Barring injuries or a trade, however, I’m not sure it’s coming on opening night and there’s no point putting him in the press box for an extended stint.
8) Time on ice stats aren’t available for this game since it was played in a non-NHL rink. That said, it’s fair to conclude that Kirby Dach played more shorthanded in this one than he did all of last season (when he played a whole 47 seconds altogether). Part of that was because most of their regular penalty killers got the night off but if he can show a bit of aptitude on that front, that will really help his cause for locking down and holding a spot in the lineup.
9) This game showcased the good and the bad of Alexandre Texier. At times, the puck was a magnet on his stick as he had several opportunities to generate scoring chances. That’s the good. The bad was how they went. Ersson stopped him early on a good look, then he lost the puck in the slot (though he drew a penalty), and on that power play, he passed from the slot for a lower-chance one-timer from the side. The skill is certainly there. The execution has been spotty throughout his career, however. We saw several examples in this game.
10) If David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom are legitimately fighting for a spot in the lineup, Reinbacher had his second straight game of winning that particular battle. It wasn’t all smooth by any stretch but Reinbacher recovered pretty well when a mistake was made. Engstrom had a few more miscues and looked a little out of sorts with Noah Dobson. Both players will undoubtedly get one of the Saturday games in a final audition for a spot but right now, it’s probably Reinbacher in the lead.