montrealgazette.com
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This edition of the Hidden Game — our last before the Canadiens’ three-week break for the Winter Olympics — is dedicated to Samuel Montembeault and all his critics, of which there are many.
Everyone will admit Montembeault has endured an inconsistent season. But
playing for the first time since Jan. 24 at Boston
, the Canadiens goaltender was brilliant on Wednesday.
He stopped 36 shots in Montreal’s convincing 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. And had Montembeault not allowed a Kyle Connor power-play goal slightly more than six minutes into the proceedings, he would have recorded his first shutout this season.
Montembeault was beaten on the seventh shot he faced. Then he stopped the next 30, including at least a half-dozen legitimate scoring chances. His save percentage was a tidy .973.
We get it: It’s only one game and our ebullience must be tempered. But if Montembeault can regain the form he displayed last season — combined with the stellar work of late from
Jakub Dobes
— the Canadiens could be a dark horse come playoff time. That is, provided they qualify.
In case you think players aren’t superstitious:
Yeah, that was a new mask Montembeault unveiled against Winnipeg. We don’t believe this was a coincidence.
Honourable mention (Part I):
Brendan Gallagher, 33, had a goal and two assists. It was his 12th career three-point game; his first since last March 18, against Ottawa. Gallagher’s critics, of which there are many, will say he’s too slow and doesn’t deserve to play on the Canadiens’ second power-play unit, let alone every game. We say the team would miss his heart and soul. He also might give the best quote in the dressing room.
Honourable mention (Part II):
Josh Anderson also scored a goal and had a three-point night.
Honourable mention (Part III):
While Kirby Dach was held to one assist, he’s on a four-game point streak. He has two goals and five points over that span.
Strange, but true (Part I)
:
Cole Caufield
leads the Canadiens in goals, with 32, but has yet to score against Winnipeg in 11 regular-season games.
Not so strange, but true:
This break can’t come soon enough for the beleaguered
Zachary Bolduc
, who has now gone 20 games without a goal. However, he does have four assists in his last five contests.
Strange, but true (Part II):
Although Winnipeg pulled its goalie with 5:44 remaining in regulation time, the Canadiens managed only one goal into the empty net — a short-handed tally by Phillip Danault. At least six attempts went for icing. In other words, this team couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
How the mighty have fallen:
Winnipeg won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, but is unlikely to make the playoffs. The Jets have crashed and burned this season (no pun intended). The team endured an 11-game (0-7-4) losing streak between Dec. 15 and Jan. 8. Winnipeg now has 26 regulation losses, four more than last season. It has allowed 175 goals. That’s 15 fewer than all of last season. The Jets are the only team in the NHL with an average age over 30. One word comes to mind: Rebuild. Three more words should also be contemplated: Blow it up.
Sieve of the night:
Connor Hellebuyck is the reigning Hart Trophy winner. He also won back-to-back Vezina awards. But he allowed two second-period Canadiens goals on consecutive shots in a span of 76 seconds. His save percentage was .846.
News you need (Part I):
Canadiens defenceman
Noah Dobson
is on a five-game point streak. He had two assists against Winnipeg.
News you need (Part II):
The Canadiens now have a 16-7-2 record following a loss.
Strange, but true (Part III):
The Canadiens didn’t generate their first shot until 7:16 — by Danault — after Winnipeg had tested Montembeault eight times. But over the next 12:44, Montreal produced 10 shots.
It’s a game of inches:
Connor came a post away in the first period of scoring his second goal.
Good things happen when you go to the net:
Oliver Kapanen scored the Canadiens’ first goal — on a rebound.
That’s using your head:
Caufield banked a shot off Hellebuyck’s mask in the opening period while Montreal had the man advantage.
It just wasn’t his night:
Early in the second period, Caufield could only look to the heavens after his rebound failed to elude Hellebuyck.
Faceoff of the night:
Danault beat Jonathan Toews, leading to the Canadiens’ second goal.
Pass of the night (Part I):
Anderson’s cross-ice backhand to Lane Hutson, giving Montreal a 3-1 lead.
Pass of the night (Part II):
Dach to Gallagher on the Canadiens’ fourth goal.
Quick stats:
Caufield had five shots — one more than Kapanen. Joe Veleno had five hits. Bolduc played only 11:07. Defenceman Jayden Struble, dressed for the first time since Jan. 22, played 12:03. The Canadiens won 55 per cent of their faceoffs and outhit Winnipeg 21-15.
They said it:
“I felt it was a little bit of a slow start,” Nick Suzuki said in Winnipeg. “We kind of found our legs, found our game late in the first and kind of controlled the rest of the game. (Montembeault) was sharp right away and saved ourselves from getting into a big hole. I thought he played a great game.”
“It was nice to get rewarded tonight,” Anderson said. “I thought we’ve been playing pretty good hockey lately as a line. It was kind of a little bit of a slow start for us. I think we started to turn it around at the end of the first period and kind of took over from there. We had a lot of good chances. Obviously (Montembeault) made some unbelievable saves. He played really solid for us. It was a huge game for us, knowing it was the last one before the break.”
“I don’t think we played our best, especially at the start of the game,” Hutson said. “(Montembeault) battled and kept us in it. When we got our chances, we executed. (Montembeault) stood up to the challenge and made some big saves when we needed it. It helped us get into the game a little bit more.”
hzurkowsky@postmedia.com
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