10 Thoughts: Horvat’s Pair Gives Islanders The Win Over Habs

After a big comeback win against Ottawa on Tuesday, the Habs faced the Islanders on Thursday looking to keep up their winning ways.  While they came back to force overtime and secured a key point, Bo Horvat’s second of the night in the extra session gave New York the 4-3 win.

Unsurprisingly, there were no lineup changes from the victory over the Senators, meaning that Samuel Montembeault once again got the start in goal while Michael Pezzetta was the lone healthy scratch.  The team lined up as follows:

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Laine – Newhook – Roy
Gallagher – Dvorak – Anderson
Heineman – Evans – Armia

Matheson – Carrier
Struble –Hutson
Xhekaj – Savard

10 Thoughts

1) I liked Montreal’s first few shifts in this one.  It wasn’t that there were a bunch of chances – there weren’t – but they had a good forecheck and attention to detail.  That is, until Brendan Gallagher got a bit too close to Ilya Sorokin, bumping him and being sent off for goalie interference a little before the four-minute mark.  Yes, Sorokin certainly sold it, but Gallagher can’t be getting that close to the blue paint and making contact, something that has proven costly in two straight games now.

2) While the Habs were off to a good start to their penalty kill, it only took one shot to change things.  Anthony Duclair got a weak one off from in close and somehow beat Montembeault on another ‘that can’t go in’ type of goal.  Going back to last game, that’s three absolute clunkers in less than 30 minutes of game time.  This is a sign that he’s getting tired.  He’s well past his career highs in playing time already so his getting tired isn’t surprising but Martin St. Louis needs to resist the temptation to run with his starter; Jakub Dobes needs a game soon to give Montembeault some rest.  Some bad rebound control later in the opening frame only cements that thought and was a sign of things to come.

3) One other area of concern in the opening frame was the power play.  The Islanders are brutal on the penalty kill but they seemed to have the top unit completely flustered.  New York forced some bad rushed passes and the top group couldn’t get anything going.  The second wave was a bit better and generated a couple of looks but special teams are a big weakness for the Isles; trailing on that front was far from encouraging.

4) It wasn’t all bad, however, in the opening 20 minutes.  Just before the 12-minute mark, Jayden Struble got a shot through from the point.  It bounced to Joshua Roy who was in the right spot at the right time to bat it home.  It wasn’t the prettiest of tallies but he needs a confidence booster after a very quiet first few games on recall.

5) Gallagher’s reputation might have cost him early in the second period.  While skating in the offensive zone, Scott Mayfield skated into him.  Mayfield got the worst of it and Gallagher got an undeserved interference penalty.  Noah Dobson got a makeup interference call while on the power play to wipe that out fairly quickly.  Unfortunately for the Habs, while the top unit was better with the man advantage, they couldn’t score.  After the power play, Nick Suzuki was somehow still on the ice as the forward line hadn’t completely changed.  Emil Heineman sent a perfect hard pass to Suzuki who was all alone; he skated in and beat Sorokin.  However, the Islanders challenged for offside and Suzuki was just ahead of the puck by a fraction of an inch.  But whether it’s by a millimetre or a mile, it was still offside.

6) The Habs dominated the majority of the frame but couldn’t get one past Sorokin and it had the feel of ‘better score now or something bad is going to happen later’.  That something bad came in the form of a Mike Matheson holding penalty with five minutes left.  New York didn’t generate much in the way of chances on the man advantage again but they had plenty of zone time.  Eventually, Dobson sent a pass to Simon Holmstrom whose one-timer beat Montembeault short-side to take the lead.  The Isles hadn’t scored on the man advantage in five straight games but had their second power play goal in as many periods, giving them the lead heading to the third.

7) The third didn’t get off to a good start.  Two and a half minutes in, Bo Horvat got a half-step on Matheson, allowing him to drive the Montreal net, albeit at a tight angle.  While he didn’t have much room to work with, he found a way to squeak it past Montembeault on another ‘how did that find a hole’ goal, another one he’d probably like another crack at.

8) But to Montreal’s credit, they didn’t give up.  Two minutes later while on the power play, Suzuki sent a pass through to Patrik Laine in his usual spot.  He had plenty of room to shoot at and made no mistake.  Of course, there was a reason he had a lot of room as Juraj Slafkovsky got a piece of Sorokin while also running a bit of a pick.  The Isles challenged for interference and after another long review, the goal stood, getting the Habs back in it plus another power play chance to tie it up.  They squandered it but it was at least a step in the right direction.

9) It was good to see the Canadiens continue to press.  Frankly, this game had no business being that close as the Habs controlled large stretches.  Alex Newhook had a strong move to get a dangerous shot off that caught the crossbar.  He’s playing quite well and one of these days, he’s going to bury one.  But in the end, it was a lucky break that tied the game up.  Jean-Gabriel Pageau sent a perfect pass to Gallagher at the defensive zone blueline, springing him on a breakaway.  Mike Reilly then fell, giving Gallagher all the time in the world.  He skated in and beat Sorokin clean to tie it up.  A day after his mother’s funeral, that made it that much more impressive.

10) The Habs did well to come back and get a point but that was all they were able to get.  It wasn’t a particularly impressive overtime session from them and with a minute and a half left, Tony DeAngelo sent Horvat in one-on-one with Suzuki after Lane Hutson made a poor decision to throw a weak shot on net and lose possession.  Suzuki had to hedge toward the middle with Kyle Palmieri making it a two-on-one.  Horvat elected to shoot and beat Montembeault short-side, a tough end to a tough night for him.  He’s played quite well as of late and a bad game was bound to happen, it just unfortunately came against a team in the mix for a Wild Card spot.  On a random note, Sorokin got an assist on this one, his second of the season…and second of the game after also getting one on Horvat’s first goal.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Patrik Laine – He had the lone power play marker in the third but this was one of his better games in recent weeks.  At even strength, he was much more involved than usual, which played a big role in that line being more of a threat than an afterthought.  Even the one zone entry on the power play that saw him stick handle through several players was impressive.  This version of Laine can be a difference-maker.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, -1 rating, 4 shots, 15:52 TOI

2nd Star: Brendan Gallagher – It was an eventful game for him which was both good and bad with his first penalty leading to a goal.  But Gallagher was certainly noticeable on most shifts with his line having a solid road game.  And of course, his third-period goal was a huge one, especially considering that he’s not exactly known for scoring on breakaways.

Stats: 1 goal, +1 rating, 4 PIMS, 5 shots, 14:26 TOI

3rd Star: Jayden Struble – There’s nothing flashy in the stat line to give him this spot but he just had a very solid and reliable game.  Moving up to play with Hutson has been good for Struble who seems to be a bit more confident despite playing on his off-side.  With Kaiden Guhle aiming to return before the end of the season, this is an important stretch of games for Struble.

Stats: 1 assist, +2 rating, 2 shots, 15:31 TOI