First period
- The Jake Evans line gets the start and flies the zone immediately. Not exactly the “cohesion” I was expecting, but they got away with it, and ended up with a shot.
- It’s a fairly measured start, and maybe it’s good that they seem to be playing more of a long game.
- The forwards seem more aggressive on the puck in the defensive zone, looking more like they do on the penalty kill.
- A great individual rush for Oliver Kapanen gets a rise out of the crowd.
- Michael Pezzetta throws a hit, right into the numbers of Alexey Toropchenko.
- That just means the Canadiens go their most comfortable situation on the penalty kill.
- A big Samuel Montembeault save allows the penalty to expire, and Evans caps off the sequence by keeping and scoring on a two-on-one.
- Jayden Struble tried to keep the puck in at the blue line by kicking it out of mid-air. St-Louis isn’t going to like that one.
- Lane Hutson joins a rush for a three-on-two, but doesn’t get the cross-ice pass he’s looking for. It’s still good that he hasn’t been deterred from playing offensively with all the focus on defence this week.
- Josh Anderson literally throws himself at the puck to stop a neutral zone rush, and it works.
- On a power play, Kirby Dach’s attempted pass is easily picked off because the play took a couple of seconds from when it was clear he was going to make a pass and when he actually did. Everything he does is telegraphed at the moment as he’s not playing at the NHL pace.
- There are still some breakdowns happening in the defensive zone, but they’re not leading to completely unmarked shots like they had been.
- Montreal holds a deserved 1-0 lead, but there’s still room to tighten things up in their own zone.
Second period
- The Evans line gets the start again, and it ends in another shot on goal.
- Dach keeps the puck moving around the zone on his shift, and eventually gets rewarded with a puck that falls to his stick with an empty net.
- St. Louis blitzes the net following the centre ice faceoff and gets goal right back. The coverage was pretty good, but Colton Parayko jumping up from the blue line gave them the advantage at the top of the crease.
- Dach has another puck on his stick in the slot, but Jordan Binnington makes the save.
- Montreal gets lucky that an odd-man rush doesn’t burn them, but them Mike Matheson and Logan Mailloux think the play is over and the Blues tie the game.
- Nick Suzuki and Dach nearly connect for a goal.
- And almost immediately it’s a two-on-one against.
- I think the Habs believe they can score a goal on any rush, and that’s why the defensive are thinking offence when they should be playing a bit safer on defence. When things start to click, I think the team will be okay. It’s the odd-man situations that burn them right now.
- Evans draws an interference penalty on a pick play in the neutral zone.
- The second unit was the one that seemed the most interested in actually scoring a goal.
- Suzuki is looking for Dach’s stick every time the puck gets into the offensive zone now.
- Scott Perunovich was looking for Dach’s chin on the last shift, and that’s a high-sticking penalty.
- Dach finds the skate of Alex Newhook at the opposite side of the net, and that leads to the go-ahead goal on the power play.
- Montreal isn’t doing well with the shifts after goals, but the Blues don’t score on that one.
- Despite some breakdowns, Montreal still holds a one-goal lead. Now how will they play to keep it that way?
Third period
- Three out of three period-opening shifts that end with the puck in the offensive zone. St-louis gets rewarded for that decision.
- Pezzetta goes to the box for a second time. Waivers are beckoning his name.
- Hutson gets a shift on the penalty kill. He comes up with a big block in the slot.
- Cole Caufield enters the zone on a one-on-four, and still manages to beat Binnington from range to extend the lead to two. Hutson adds a point on the play, snapping a four-game drought.
- Again the shift after a goal is a problem.
- This isn’t the time for Olés.
- Now there’s a wave going.
- Hutson goes into the corner with two Blues players, comes out with the puck, and skates it to the opposite side of the ice. He’s been great in this third period.
- Anderson has gone to the room after trying to stay on the bench following a blocked shot. It went off the inside of his foot.
- The Canadiens are back on the PK. Will we see another Hutson shift?
- The Blues must think Evans is on their PP2, because they just put the puck right on his blade twice in a span of 30 seconds.
- Binnington has gone to the bench with four minutes remaining.
- It almost works as the puck gets behind Montembeault, but he spins it out of his crease.
- Joel Armia hits the empty net to make it 5-2, and give the crowd some wings.
- Now you can sing “Olé!”
EOTP 3 Stars
3) A switch seemed to flip for him tonight

2) Maybe the most consistent forward this year

1) Who’s laughing now?
