10 Thoughts: Milestone Goals Lead Habs Over Lightning

Thursday’s battle between the Habs and Lightning had seeding implications for both teams.  Both teams treated it like a playoff matchup and in a very tight-checking affair, Juraj Slafkovsky’s late goal gave Montreal the 2-1 win.

Martin St. Louis opted to make some changes to his lineup that beat Florida.  Joe Veleno returned after missing Tuesday’s game due to illness, taking the place of Zach Bolduc.  Meanwhile, a tweak was made on each of the bottom three forward lines, most notably Oliver Kapanen going back on the second line after suiting up on the fourth against the Panthers.  The team lined up as follows:

Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Texier – Kapanen – Demidov
Newhook – Evans – Dach
Veleno – Danault – Anderson

Matheson – Dobson
Struble – Hutson
Engstrom – Xhekaj

10 Thoughts

1) Bad starts have been a problem for the Habs for a while now.  It has almost become a habit as of late.  This was an exception.  They played with pace and intensity, generating some good looks early and playing with the edge from a physicality standpoint.  Those efforts yielded a four-minute power play when Jayden Struble took a high stick from Yanni Gourde.  The first wave was dangerous on both of their shifts while the second wave was entirely ineffective.

2) Unfortunately for Montreal, it wasn’t sustained.  After the Lightning killed off the penalty, they found their skating legs and started to push back.  In doing so, they generated a couple of man advantages, one from a retaliatory roughing call on Arber Xhekaj and a high-sticking call on Ivan Demidov.  The penalty kill did well each time, at least.  Tampa Bay was held to just three shots in the first period although the Habs only had three themselves in the final 13 minutes after their power play.

3) These games can go a couple of different ways.  You can go with a reduced playbook, so to speak, to stop the opponent from seeing everything.  Or, you can go like normal.  The Habs went like normal in this one while also picking up the chippiness.  That part surprised me a little.  I get trying to send a message but if there’s one team that has proven time and time again that they’re capable of playing (and escalating) these things, it’s Tampa Bay.  Seriously, look back at the games where things ‘got out of hand’ this season.  The bulk of them involve the Lightning, and not just against Florida.  This type of game is one they’re way more comfortable in than the Canadiens.

4) The chippiness picked up even more in the second period.  Josh Anderson – who played with a big physical edge in this one – helped start a scrum on a late icing call that upped the temperature a bit more.  Full credit to the penalty kill for again shutting things down, though Jake Guentzel did get a goal post.

5) One of the storylines recently has been Cole Caufield’s chase for 50 goals.  There have been times in past games where Montreal has been trying to force it to him too much.  While Caufield had plenty of shot opportunities early, they came naturally.  Accordingly, it’s fitting that he got the marker when they weren’t doing anything they wouldn’t normally do.  On a breakout play, Juraj Slafkovsky got the puck to Nick Suzuki at centre.  He sent a feed to the right to Caufield and Caufield didn’t have much time to shoot.  He had enough time to aim and fire, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy far-side.  The Canadiens, being a rush team, getting the milestone on a rush play just feels right.

6) Back to the shenanigans.  There were plenty from both sides.  Montreal certainly didn’t back down from anything (and even initiated some of them) but they are not a team built to play this way over a seven-game series.  Notable among the many (many) penalties in the back half of the frame was Brayden Point running over Jakub Dobes late, a play that is one some Habs may very well be remembering should these teams meet in the postseason.

7) Lost among the rough stuff in this one was how much Montreal’s power play really struggled in the second period, failing to score or even generate too much on four opportunities.  Considering that the Habs were running their usual power play tactics and not a vanilla look, that’s a little concerning.  The Lightning were taking away the usual plays that the Habs try to get and should they play in the playoffs, there will need to be some adjustments from Martin St. Louis and company.

8) I really liked Montreal’s start to the third period.  A makeshift second line that saw Anderson in Alexandre Texier’s spot generated a pair of good looks with Kapanen being robbed by Vasilevskiy.  They couldn’t get that go-ahead goal, however, even after another power play opportunity.  For as much as it felt like the Habs were in control of this game, they really weren’t with only a one-goal advantage.  Getting that elusive insurance goal would have made things a lot easier in the dying minutes.

9) Speaking of those dying minutes, the penalty kill was successful again after Demidov was called for tripping with a little under six minutes to go.  Tampa Bay was much better with the man advantage, however.  Guentzel was stopped point-blank by Dobes while Nikita Kucherov missed an open net in tight.  Meanwhile, Veleno couldn’t cash in on a three-on-one shorthanded off a feed from Jake Evans.  But the lack of an insurance marker proved costly as with less than two minutes left, Darren Raddysh was able to blast a shot past Dobes, setting a new team record for most goals by a defenceman.

10) There weren’t a lot of bounces in this game but Montreal got one late.  With just over a minute left, J.J. Moser flubbed a pass behind the Lightning net.  Suzuki was right there and sent a quick feed out front to Slafkovsky.  He lifted it past Vasilevskiy and somehow, the Habs had the lead right back.  It’s an appropriate outcome in a game that the home side was the better team but that’s not a break they’re going to get too often.  It certainly made for quite the finish to quite the game, however.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Cole Caufield – Yes, he got his 50th goal, being the seventh Hab in team history to do so and the first since 1990.  But he was also dangerous, generating several quality looks beyond his tally.  After looking like he was off a little bit the last few games, this was the version of Caufield that the Habs have seen a lot of in the second half this season.

Stats: 1 goal, +2 rating, 5 shots (10 attempts), 17:58 TOI

2nd Star: Nick Suzuki – Caufield and Slafkovsky got the goals but it was Suzuki who set them up with well-timed passes.  The captain now has 70 assists on the season, becoming just the third player in franchise history to reach that mark.  His line was Montreal’s best and he has three games left to get two points to get to the century mark.

Stats: 2 assists, +1 rating, 1 shot, 7/14 faceoffs, 22:15 TOI

3rd Star: Juraj Slafkovsky – Josh Anderson deserves a nod here too but it was the top line that carried the Habs in this one and, well, Slafkovsky scored the winner with just 1:04 left so he has to make it on the list.  He’s the first Slovakian-born player since Marian Hossa to reach the 30-goal mark in a single season.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 assist, +1 rating, 3 shots (10 attempts), 2 hits, 21:13 TOI