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In Hainsight: It Bodes Well for the Future |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
The last time Montreal had taken on Boston, Martin St.Louis’ men were obliterated by a score of 9-4. Samuel Montembeault was in the net and had allowed eight goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Cayden Primeau for the last 10 minutes of the game. It’s the kind of game that tends to stick around in your mind if you let it and act as a wrecking ball on your confidence. Last night, Montembeault was given a chance to show he was over it and he did it.
Even though he only faced 24 shots, a low total compared to what he’s been seeing this season, Montembeault was solid in net. He made several tricky saves and showed he was as quick as a cat when needed. Granted, the Bruins hit the post a few times, but you’ve got to be lucky to be good and good to be lucky as they say.
Boston opened the scoring less than five minutes in when Heinen got the puck past Montembeault with assists from Pastrnak and Zacha. Their lead only lasted 10 minutes though, since Cole Caufield’s forecheck allowed Juraj Slafkovsky to get the puck and feed it to Nick Suzuki who made no mistake and scored his 26th goal of the season tying his total from last season which was a personal best for him. With 16 games to go, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve on that total. He now has 62 points and needs 20 in the last 16 to be a point-per-game player which is a realistic goal for the captain.
There were no other goals until the overtime which only lasted 25 seconds. The Canadiens won the initial faceoff, but Mike Matheson tried to make a play to end the game, but he was dispossessed. The Bruins wasted no time to get to the Canadiens’ zone and it was Jake DeBrusk who gave Boston the win. As we’ve said all year though, the result doesn’t matter it’s all about progress and there was a lot of progress last night. The penalty kill was able to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard during their four power play opportunities including a double-minor for high-sticking to Suzuki, who’s one of the team’s top penalty killers.
Individually, Joel Armia also shone. The veteran has been deploying a lot of effort this season after being demoted to Laval and he’s not taking nights off anymore. He was named the game's second star even though he didn’t have a single point, but it was fully deserved. The Finn played hard in all zones, landing three hits and taking three shots on net, the most taken by any Habs last night. Armia doesn’t look like a ghost at times anymore and that’s good news for the Canadiens. Not that he’ll be part of the team when it’s ready to compete, but because it will raise his value for the next trade deadline when he’ll be a pending unrestricted free agent.
On the blue line, Arber Xhekaj played another good game alongside David Savard. He took two shots on net and landed 5 hits while staying disciplined all the way through. Mike Matheson, who received a lot of heat for the loss, also played very well, blocking three shots and being active in all three zones. Jonathan Kovacevic still struggled though, experiencing difficulties to exit the zone and be able to get back to the bench. It’s becoming more and more obvious that Kent Hughes will have to sacrifice some of his young D to get more offense, if it were up to me, Xhekaj would be there to stay. His grit and dedication to the team are already great qualities, but the way he’s started unleashing his big shot this season is amazing. As for Matheson, I’d keep him around too as a veteran presence for the kids, but he’s also a big part of the team’s attack.
The Canadiens’ next five games will take place on the road, out west. The kind of trip that’s always hard for the team. They’ll take on the Flames Saturday, the Oilers Tuesday, the Canucks on Thursday before stopping in Seattle and Denver to wrap up the trip.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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