Last night, the Montreal Canadiens paid their only visit to Winnipeg to see the Jets. After 30 games, the Habs have a 13-13-4 record and are on pace for 82 points.
The game last night kicked off a seven-game road trip, which is actually two separate road trips. The Habs will play the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild later this week before taking a five-day break for the Christmas holiday, after which they will travel south to face the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here are 24 thoughts on the Montreal Canadiens’ 31st game of the season.
First Period Ideas
Jake Allen took the field last night, hoping to snap his seven-game losing streak. Okay, he probably isn’t planning on doing that, but he could pull it off. His most recent victory came on October 28th, against….. the Winnipeg Jets!
Speaking of Habs goaltenders, Cayden Primeau is out for the fourth game in a row. That’s a shame because he was fantastic in his last start against the Buffalo Sabres. Primeau stopped 46 of 48 shots against a division rival on December 9th, but that was his only appearance in the month of December.
The top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky may not score every night, but they will improve greatly by facing the tough opposition they will face every night. Because the Canadiens lack a strong second line, this trio will face the most difficult opponents when they travel. It will be interesting to see how they perform on this road trip.
Whether they score two goals per night or none, I believe the best thing to do is to keep the three of them together and let them battle and learn. We’re expecting the three of them to be top six players on a good team in a couple years, so now is a great time to learn how to deal with tough road matchups.
I’m not sure if the Laval Rocket coaching staff expects Jayden Struble to return anytime soon, but they might never see him again. He stood calmly in front of his net, clearing away a strangely bouncing puck that he whiffed the first time. When the puck got behind him, instead of panicking or taking a penalty, he simply moved to the backhand and knocked the puck away from the crease to keep it out of danger. He broke up a play in front of the net shortly after when Mark Scheifele was sniffing around trying to redirect a centering pass. He is effective defensively and has demonstrated exceptional skating ability. He’ll be around for a long time.
On a subtle defensive zone play late in the first period, Juraj Slafkovsky displayed a lot of confidence and poise. His line, which included Suzuki and Caufield, as well as Kaiden Guhle and Justin Barron, was clearly gassed and stuck in their own zone for an extended period of time. Slafkovsky received the puck deep in his own zone and faked to continue moving in one direction before turning 180 degrees on a dime to create space for himself. He then stickhandled his way around another Jets player, using his long reach to keep the puck and easily getting it out of his zone.
It wasn’t a highlight-reel play, but it’s the kind of play that NHL players need to be able to make in order to stay on a top line. He didn’t panic and ice the puck, and he also didn’t turn it over. Instead, he displayed 1000 times more confidence than he did last season and almost certainly saved a goal against. Now, to actually make some points….
The Canadiens were unable to generate many chances in the first period, and the final eight minutes were played without a single whistle as both teams slogged it out. In good news, they didn’t give up many chances, which is a good way to begin a seven-game road trip.
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