10 Thoughts – Surging Canadiens neutralize Lightning for 6th Win in a Row

Jakub Dobes was called upon in another start for the Montreal Canadiens against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. Josh Anderson returned to the lineup from his illness, and Arber Xhekaj was moved back to the backend when it was announced that Alexandre Carrier would miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury.

Montreal gave as good as they got in this penalty-riddled contest, and outside of the first period, the officials kept the whistles away from obnoxious calls. Eventually, the scrums resulted in entire lines being sent off the ice, and Montreal finished with seven players on their bench as Oliver Kapanen and Josh Anderson were engaged on the ice once more.

Tampa Bay tried to push the young Habs around, and instead found themselves skated into the ground by a balanced and motivated team that sticks up for each other in all situations. Culture reigns supreme for Montreal, and their sixth win in a row against playoff-hopeful or established teams exemplifies nothing if not that. The squad is firing at all levels following a 4-1 victory.

Montreal’s Lines

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Newhook – Kapanen – Demidov
Anderson – Evans – Veleno
Bolduc – Danault – Gallagher

Hutson – Struble
Matheson – Dobson
Guhle – Xhekaj

Jakub Dobes

10 Thoughts

1) Each team earned their first shots off turnovers from pinching defencemen, and Montreal took the first penalty following theirs. Pontus Holmberg drew Jayden Struble into a holding penalty by trying to drive through him toward the puck behind Dobes. Brendan Gallagher served the penalty since Struble left the bench, and the fearsome Tampa Bay top unit came over the boards. Montreal earned some quick clears, and Dobes made two excellent pad saves on Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel. Nikita Kucherov fanned on a back-door deflection, opening the door for Lane Hutson to attempt a rush up the ice with Phillip Danault. The two were unable to connect, but Hutson’s defensive play along the wall on Hagel killed off the rest of the penalty moment prior. Yanni Gourde was left slamming his stick when Dobes snagged his broken shot out of the air to keep the game at zeroes five minutes through.

2) Holmberg drew the second penalty on Montreal after crumpling like a bundle of stick after Kaiden Guhle shoved him slightly too hard in front of Dobes. Following a quick clear, the Tampa Bay Lightning attempted to reenter the zone, but Kucherov drifted into the crease and ran into Dobes from behind, knocking him over. No arm went up from the striped fraudsters LARPing as NHL officials, and when Noah Dobson touched the star winger, both were sent to the box. Kucherov for goaltender interference – no actual penalty in the moment – and Dobson for “roughing”. Jake Guentzel was called for hooking after only a few seconds into the fantastical five of four offsetting minors, in another incredibly soft call, putting play into another special teams battle at four-on-four. During the whirlwind play, Hutson broke in alone and was pulled down in a trip, sending another skater to the box for a minor penalty.

3) Eventually, things cleared up to allow for some of the puck play, and Montreal capitalized. They worked the five-on-three of Guentzel’s penalty around the zone and took multiple one-timer shots, and Slafkovsky’s was the first to beat Andrei Vasilevskiy. His shot actually spun the stick in the netminder’s hand and through his legs, getting the Habs a crucial lead. Tampa Bay took little time to strike back, as the Lightning burst into the zone with a quick strike. Dobson and Jake Evans couldn’t get body position on Gage Goncalves and Guentzel, the latter spinning off Dobson behind the net, skating to the slot and whipping a shot inside the near post as he spun around.

4) As the second period opened up, Montreal earned themselves numerous shots and chances over the first few minutes. The Habs had some scary moments over the first ten of the middle frame following glaring turnovers and blocked outlet passes high in their own zone, courtesy of Xhekaj, Evans, and Guhle. Danault and Joe Veleno couldn’t convert a two-on-one of theirs, Vasilevskiy flashing the leather on Danault’s no-look shot.

5) Despite this, and the Lightning’s subsequent push of their own, neither team could break through the deadlock at one until Cole Caufield got one past Vasilevskiy for the first time in his career. An outlet pass to the blueline from J-J Moser to Anthony Cirelli deflected to Mike Matheson at the opposite side of the neutral zone. He bumped the puck up to Slafkovsky wheeling up at centre ice, who carried the puck into the zone and down the wall. Spying Caufield across the slot, he waited for the lane to open up before sliding it to Cole for a relatively simple tap-in.

6) Just as in the first, the Lightning attacked immediately following the span of sleepy play that enabled Caufield’s strike. After an extended period of delayed penalty, Alex Newhook made his way to the box for hooking Guentzel and gave Tampa Bay a chance on the power play once more. Evans and Veleno had massive shot blocks during the first minute, and Dobes was needed for another huge stop on Point in front before Guhle violently cleared him out of the slot.

7. A late power play opportunity for the Canadiens was available when Kucherov distinctly slashed into the body of Caufield as they passed in the neutral zone. Dobes was the best player in the remaining seconds of the period when he was needed to stop a very late breakaway by Hagel; Hutson gave the puck away at the blueline and skated forward instead of pivoting on the power play.

8. The third-best penalty kill in the league stymied the remainder of the advantage with ease to start the third period. The top unit struggled to gain the zone, and the goaltender was in place for their one shot. Vasilevskiy also bailed out his defenders moments after the power play expired when his left pad stopped a backdoor attempt from Josh Anderson. Zach Bolduc fed him perfectly from below the goal line, and Anderson beat his man to the net but couldn’t beat the Vezina-winning goalie to give his team critical extra padding to the lead.

9. A simple dump-in and freeze from Hagel devolved into an extended shoving and roughing match between the two squads off to the right of Dobes, resulting in four players being sent to the box; Guentzel, Anderson, Bolduc, and Emil Lilleberg all sat for two minutes. No extra ice opened up as play continued at five on five, but Dobes still needed to be sharp when Kucherov fed Point with a glorious glancing tip-pass in a straight line toward the net. Point got a stick on the puck at the last second and Dobes needed to flare out his right pad as Point skated by him in order to make the stop. Vasilevskiy gave his team a chance to get back into the game when he stoned Caufield from ten feet after breaking free of Gourde along the boards. The Lightning had trouble breaking through the malaise of coverage in the neutral zone during the latter stages of the third period, and the Canadiens defenders made playing in front of Dobes no easier by boxing out forwards and hammering and the remainders with vicious cross-checks and slashes behind the play.

10. NHL referee Brandon Blandina called Nick Suzuki – with four minutes remaining – for lightly shoving Yanni Gourde, who had the puck, in Tampa Bay’s zone. Gourde was turning around with the puck and dealing with Suzuki’s forecheck, and couldn’t keep his balance. The penalty was inexcusable. Evans found himself in the box after driving Kucherov into the boards, no penalty was called, and then was jumped by Darren Raddysh. The officiating crew decided to retroactively issue a major penalty for boarding and proceeded to review the play. A two-minute minor was issued, Raddysh received a roughing call, and play continued at a five-on-four disadvantage for Montreal. The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy during the stoppage with two and a half minutes left. Dobes needed to make stops on Kucherov and Hagel, knocking the puck out of danger and the zone. Danault held the blue line as Tampa got back in, and Matheson closed off his man along the wall before firing the loose puck into the empty net, driving the lead up a goal. Suzuki hit another empty netter after the top line spent thirty seconds defending six on five, characterized by Caufield’s boxing out of Point in front to clear a puck away from Dobes.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Jakub Dobes

Montreal’s starting goaltender has faced more rubber in games this season but perhaps few were more impactful. Jakub Dobes made the key saves during the three periods of play that directly led to chances for the Canadiens to strike, such as his to end the second period. His glove save on Gourde in the first, and the sequence of stops on McDonagh and Hagel late in the third.

Stats: 36 SV, 1 GA, .973 SV%

2nd Star: Juraj Slafkovsky

Instrumental in the offensive pushes for Montreal, Slafkovsky drove his line with more than that offence. He blocked shots throughout the match at important moments when the Canadiens were desperately defending against Tampa’s top players, and took the body in order to take the puck away from skaters along the wall in his own zone.

Stats:  1 goal, 1 assist, +3 rating, 1 shot, 2 blocks, 2 hits, 19:11 TOI

3rd Star: Kaiden Guhle, Mike Matheson (and the rest of the defensive corps)

In an intensely physical game, Montreal’s young defenders held their own against experienced, hardened veterans. They blocked shots, returned punches with heavier shots, and refused to bend in the face of pressure, fighting to the final whistle and forcing the officials to end the game with time on the clock. In a game that was sure to bring the squad even closer together, they played with grit and honour for each other, as well as some excellent hockey.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +4 cumulative rating, 3 shots, 9 blocks, 6 hits