First period
- Thirty seconds in, the Habs are off to the penalty kill as Cayden Primeau gets called for tripping.
- The PK remains aggressive, and that’s a great change after the passive box formation that flat out didn’t work last season.
- The Bruins still find a way to score. Primeau seemed upset at the goal, and it appears that Justin Brazeau ran into him in the crease. The coach’s challenge is successful. Still no legal goals allowed this season.
- The top line fails to connect a pass on the shift after the penalty kill. they’ll get going soon.
- Montreal’s first shot comes five minutes in.
- Kirby Dach on a semi break draws a penalty. He really likes playing this team.
- Brad Marchand gets a rise out of the crowd with a big hit on Alex Newhook. Brendan Gallagher cuts of their cheers with a tip of Joel Armia’s shot. Great zone entry for Lane Hutson ,and his third NHL point in his fourth game.
- The Canadiens’ power play is operating at 33%.
- Joel Armia gets called for tripping. The Bruins are able to get the puck past Primeau on this occasion and keep the goal on the board.
- The surprise tactic of having Christian Dvorak and David Savard run into each other in the slot didn’t fool anyone.
- Cole Caufield gets the lead right back. He’s on an 82-goal pace.
- Also another point for Hutson. He’s now a point-per-game NHL player.
- The game gets tied by Mark Kastelic. It’s going to be an offensive night in Boston.
- Juraj Slafkovský draws a penalty off an icing call. That line is slowly finding its legs.
- The defensive scheme right now seems to be “chase the puck.”
- Boston held the puck for several shifts at the end of the period, and it results in another goal, this one for Elias Lindholm.
Second period
- The second period has begun similar to how the first ended. The biggest problem seems to be the forwards racing out to the point to contest the defencemen, and leaving gaping holes for the forwards to work in.
- Hutson goes to the box after getting crossed up by a pass and needing to latch onto a Bruin.
- The penalty kill looks much better than the even-strength defence because the forwards are more disciplined, yet still aggressive in the lanes. Just apply that when there are five of you out there.
- Montreal’s seventh shot of the night comes 8:51 into the second period. Very similar to what happened in middle frames last year.
- A defence pairing of Hutson and Guhle draws a penalty in the offensive zone.
- The power play isn’t doing much, at least they’re not having to play defence
- … Until Mike Matheson is called for tripping Brad Marchand.
- Josh Anderson looks properly good on the penalty kill. Not just doing his defensive work, but threatening offensively. It’s nice to see.
- Alex Newhook is grabbed trying to go on an offensive rush, but it isn’t called.
- David Pastrnak scores moments later.
- And it’s 5-2 moments after that.
- Now Suzuki draws a penalty, a few minutes and a couple of goals late.
- Despite a commercial timeout between the call and the power play starting. St-Louis starts the second unit. The first step in Hutson finding his way to the top quintet.
Third period
- I wonder what type of speech St-Louis had for his players in the second intermission. It has been four consecutive gruelling periods for the Canadiens.
- It seems he’s saved the speech and pulled out the blender. Anderson is playing with Caufield and Suzuki, Slafkovský with Dach.
- Gallagher picks up the puck on a broken Bruins clear and hits the post.
- Charlie Coyle hits a post behind Primeau.
- Dach tries to wrap the puck around the net, but it hits the post. McAvoy then races in and knocks the net off during the goalmouth scramble, and goes to the box.
- Despite the blender, the power-play units stay the same.
- No goal for the power play, on which Hutson was again the best player, but there is a goal soon afterward. Josh Anderson tips Kaiden Guhle’s point shot, and Oliver Kapanen also has his first NHL point.
- The top line has been reunited. The Canadiens are playing better since the Anderson goal.
- Boston is trying to land hits to slow the Habs down.
- You can’t deter Brendan Gallagher that way. He gets up after a hit and then scores his second of the night. It’s a 5-4 game.
- It’s a 6-4 game. Primeau deflected a pass into his own net.
- This is what I thought last night’s game was going to be like.
- Marchand intentionally throws the puck into the screen while in Montreal’s zone, and the refs were wise to his schemes.
- Hutson is the extra player at six-on-four.
- It was a good final push by Montreal, so they still had the energy in the back-to-back. They just need to play that like more throughout the game.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) He’s a star
2) What about to Gallys a day?
1) We’ll start it up all over again on Saturday