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Canadiens vs. Kings Top Six Minutes: Still not at their best

Some poor defensive coverage and uncertain offensive play plague Canadiens in game five.

Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

First period

  • The crowd doesn’t care that Lane Hutson was a -4 last game. They still start to make noise as soon as he touches the puck for the first time.
  • Josh Anderson races onto the puck 10 feet from goaltender David Rittich and pull the puck to his backhand. Rittich makes the save.
  • Justin Barron shows off his power forward instincts by driving the puck around the net and tucking it inside the post at the opposite side.
  • Mike Matheson tries something similar and gets tripped, but no call is made. Samuel Montembeault then has to make an incredible save on a breakaway moments later because Montreal was down one defenceman.
  • Alex Newhook takes an elbow to the head without ever touching the puck. It’s just a two-minute minor for Andreas Englund.
  • Montreal is getting some possession, but trying to set up the perfect play. Only five shots with the period winding down.
  • A great sequence of passing leads to shot off he post from Suzuki as he burst through the slot. Juraj Slafkovský kept the play alive on a couple of occasions by leaning on his man and stealing the puck.
  • The game pauses for a moment to recognize David Savard’s 800th NHL game.
  • Mere moments later the Kings tie the tie on a double tip of Mikey Anderson’s shot from the point.
  • A 1-1 score is fair from an evenly played period. The Canadiens need to be less hesitant to shoot in the second.

Second period

  • Kaiden Guhle dumps the puck in and takes a big hit into the boards from Adrian Kempe.
  • Guhle is still shaking his head after falling face-first into the boards, and that’s not a good sign for a player with a history of concussions.
  • The Kings add another quick-strike goal off a faceoff win. Another deflected point shot.
  • Brendan Gallagher gets his helmet removed and that’s two minutes for rudely exposing a man’s bald spot.
  • The advantage lasts 13 seconds. These refs don’t like power plays. Dach to the box.
  • Hutson gets a loud cheer for a different reason: a hip check on Adrian Kempe.
  • Mike Matheson has left the game, so it’s Hutson who comes out with the first unit on the next Canadiens power play.
  • Hutson just played nearly the full two minutes. Now the crowd is booing because the puck is in their zone, so it wasn’t exactly what everyone had envisioned.
  • The best I can say about Montreal’s play in this period is they look like five men skating around on an ice surface.
  • The top line has decided to so something a bit more sporting and get a couple of good scoring chances on the next shift.
  • Kevin Fiala runs over Montembeault in the crease, so there’s a power play with a minute to go.
  • Hutson gets taken down while trying to carry the puck down the wall. There have been several trips that have gone uncalled tonight.
  • Kopitar kills the final few seconds by planting his stick in the faceoff dot like a flag and preventing an offensive play. An unorthodox yet effective strategy.

Third period

  • The Canadiens announced in the intermission that Matheson is out with an upper-body injury, so a young defence gets even younger.
  • Kirby Dach has a shot stopped from point-blank range.
  • Arber Xhekaj is in the box for holding.
  • Jake Evans just did a a complete circle around his half of the ice to kill of the final 15 seconds of Xhekaj’s penalty. Sometimes one man skating around on an ice surface deserves a cheer.
  • Alex Newhook gets stopped on a shot from the slot.
  • The play goes the other way, and a penalty shot is awarded for a Hutson hook.
  • Montembeault saves the situation with a calm save.
  • Hutson got very physically involved on his next shift. I don’t think he liked being the reason for a penalty shot on his goalie.
  • The Kings are just in lockdown mode now after how their last two games went. A Habs will will require a gamebreaker.
  • Dach sends a tap-in across the crease to Newhook, but a stick life by Kings defenceman Jordan Spence keeps his team in the lead.
  • Now we’re seeing the way the Canadiens can play with five minutes to go: intentionally seeking offence.
  • But, it’s another goal from a point shot deflection shortly after a faceoff in Montreal’s end instead. A third goal in almost exactly the same way.
  • A late power play gives the Canadiens a chance.
  • Still looking for the perfect pass even when down two goals. They need some urgency.
  • An empty-netter for Kempe will seal this one. Not a great showing by Montreal to get outshot 32-26 by a team playing its third game in four days.

EOTP 3 Stars

3) A man’s whose dives aren’t meant to deceive

2) There’s a lot more work to be done on chemistry than I think we expected

1) The fact that there are now options is a good thing at least

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