The Habs played their final game before the Holiday break hoping to continue their recent special team dominance that now has seen both their units reach the top third in the league. They did so against a Columbus Blue Jackets team that was reeling of late.
This match was yet another chance for the Canadiens to jump over their opponent in the standings, heading into their break on a very positive note. However, the Blue Jackets came out quite strong and dominated the first to take a 2-0 lead. Montreal fought back in the second period, but some shaky play in their own zone caught up with them in the third period. A stubbornness by the coaching staff to play the usual players as opposed to those who were giving a strong performance led to a 5-4 loss.
Cole Caufield — Nick Suzuki — Juraj Slafkovsky
Alex Newhook — Kirby Dach — Patrik Laine
Brendan Gallagher – Christian Dvorak– Josh Anderson
Emil Heineman – Jake Evans — Joel Armia
Lane Hutson – Mike Matheson
Kaiden Guhle — Alexandre Carrier
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard
Samuel Montembeault
1) Patrik Laine was direct and not too kind toward his former organization after the morning skate. The result was a Columbus team that came out roaring with physical and offensive play. The team was also pushed on by a crowd that was quite active against the presence of Laine. It was reported that the organization had a video tribute prepared for Laine that they decided to cancel due to the comments in the morning. Laine was targeted physically and eventually hurt in the first period and did not return.
2) The first half of the first period saw the Blue Jackets surprise the Habs with speed as Zach Werenski was once again an offensive catalyst. The Canadiens were playing far too loose from the start as the centre of the ice was gained with ease by the home side. At the other end, Kirby Dach was the most dangerous Hab in the first, as he crashed the net and used his size to create offensively.
3) The second half of the period saw Columbus get on the board. Montembeault gave the puck away but was saved by Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson who covered the situation well. Suzuki got the puck back but fell into a Sean Monahan trap as Monahan picked him off and quickly found Dmitri Voronkov in the slot who quickly got his shot off and opened the scoring.
4) The Blue Jackets continued their assault on the Habs zone as it was a noticeably difficult period for Lane Hutson and Matheson. Columbus would add to their lead at the end of the period. Covering by the first line was inadequate when a bad angle shot beat Montembeault but hit the post. The puck bounced up, but not a single Hab was covering Kent Johnson who took his time and batted it home as he stood behind the goaltender untouched.
5) David Savard, who had hit a post in the first period, got the Habs on the board two minutes into the second. Suzuki and Cole Caufield cycled the puck briefly until Caufield saw Slafkovsky screening the young netminder. The shot missed the net, but the rebound came out the other side where Savard was unchecked to put home the rebound. Montreal got a power play before the half of the period, but Laine did not come out for the second period. This didn’t matter because Hutson took matters into his own hands by having his point shot deflected by Jack Johnson to score immediately after the advantage.
6) The first goal gave Montreal some legs for two minutes until the Blue Jackets responded. As they attacked, Jake Evans and Joel Armia covered the latecomers. However, Emil Heineman was guilty of over-skating his back-checking assignment. That was former Hab Jordan Harris who wired home his first goal in a Blue Jacket uniform to restore the two-goal lead.
7) The Habs were the better team after the Hutson goal. Evans tied the game with six minutes to play in the period. Savard cleared the zone and Heineman made a nifty transition play in the neutral zone when he identified a streaking Evans. This allowed Evans to blow by Harris and bury a shot past the young netminder on a breakaway. Brendan Gallagher then took two penalties. The initial call was a soft one for slashing. The official compounded his error by assessing an extra two minutes when the veteran said something that didn’t sit well with the official. As the second penalty started, Ivan Provorov took a tripping penalty that allowed the period to end at four on four where Montembeault stood tall to get the game to the third still tied.
8) The opening 90 seconds of the third saw four scoring chances, three of these were for the Habs, and one of them was capitalized. Armia found Evans all alone in the slot who was stopped by Jet Greaves. Evans returned the favour with a spin-o-rama pass to Armia who slashed it home for Montreal’s first lead. Montembeault then made a strong save which directly led to a Caufield breakaway on which he missed the net before play finally settled down.
9) The Blue Jackets would even the score on the power play. Caufield was sent off for a blatant hooking penalty in the offensive zone. Columbus scored quickly as Werenski sent a pass to the goal line where Kirill Marchenko one-touched it to the slot and Voronkov fired it five-hole on Montembeault, still only four minutes into the period.
10) The scoring settled down though the fast-paced and wide-open style of play remained as neither team was defensively solid on this night. Dach missed some glorious chances created by Suzuki and Caufield while Alex Newhook whiffed on chances created by Dach later in the period. Meanwhile, Montembeault’s puck handling was an adventure throughout the period that forced him to cover for his own mistakes and make big saves. With two minutes to play, Marchenko skated in on what appeared to be an inoffensive sequence. Marchenko fired a shot from the top of the circle that beat Montembeault. The Habs pulled their netminder, but never came close to scoring.
1st Star – Emil Heineman
I understand the coach not wanting to mix things up with the team playing so well of late. When things get stale and the blender needs to come out, Heineman really has done everything required to be the player that gets the next look in the top six. He’s consistent on the forecheck, his shot is a weapon, and he’s starting to make little plays like on the Evans goal that make the game easier for players around him.
Stats: 1 goal, +1, 1 shot, 2 hits, 11:43 T.O.I.
2nd Star – David Savard
Arber Xhekaj had an excellent first period and then he made way for his partner to have himself a game. Savard hit the post in the first, got the team on the board in the second, and remained offensively engaged throughout the game. Before the end of the second period, he got tripped to negate the Gallagher unsportsmanlike penalty. Personally, I find the Blue Jackets’ game plan was to play a playoff-like north-south game versus the Habs. The Matheson-Hutson duo struggled mightily against this style of play and the big bodies of Columbus. Savard-Xhekaj thrived and should have played more than the top pair in the third period.
Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 3 shots, 1 hit, 17:15 T.O.I.
3rd Star – Jake Evans
Evans’ heater continued in this contest. He’s been the Habs most consistent forward since the start of the season, and those many chances created have started going in of late. Evans’ goal on the night was likely the nicest goal of the nine scored, and his line was able to do what Suzuki’s failed to do all night which is bury the Monahan line in its’ own zone.
Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 2 shots, 1 hit, 14:43 T.O.I.
