- Pierre Houde looks decidedly more comfortable speaking at centre ice than Shea Weber did last game.
First period
- I thought they might delay the start a bit to let Houde get back to the broadcast booth, but Marc Denis is handling things well.
- Montreal hasn’t been able to establish much in the first two minutes. The crowd is trying to urge them on.
- Connor McDavid doesn’t need much to open up some space, but having a teammate trip up Lane Hutson just gave him an acre. Fortunately, neither of his teammates can finish his passes this season.
- Connor Brown tries to stick with Hutson as he twists at the blue line. Hutson is tripped again, and this one is called.
- Hutson’s unit gets the best chance with a four-way passing play, but the shot comes too late and Calvin Pickard stops it.
- Kaiden Guhle blocks a slapshot with his arm and immediately falls to the ice. He races to the dressing room feeling something is seriously wrong.
- On that long sequence in Montreal’s zone, Josh Anderson hooked McDavid on the way to the net, and will sit for two minutes.
- Edmonton spends nearly the full two minutes in the zone, but the five penalty-killers do their jobs well.
- Hutson just misses his first NHL goal once again from the goal line.
- Zach Hyman tries to get around Arber Xhekaj to go in on offence. The sheriff’s hit is a bit high, but he gets away with planting the Oilers forward in the centre-ice faceoff dot.
- Joel Armia goes to the box for high-sticking. He seems to spend a lot of time in their lately.
- Three minors in the last five games that is for him, which isn’t what you want from your fourth line.
- The game remains goalless, largely thanks to the play of Samuel Montembeault.
Second period
- Whatever issue Guhle was dealing with is no match for the smelling salts he’s breathing in to start the second period.
- He’s right out there killing off the end of the power play, and ends it with another blocked shot.
- Alex Newhook winds up and … missing by a net’s width.
- That’s followed up by three more shots wide of the target. They’re overthinking things.
- Hutson goes to the box for hooking. His stick was clamped onto as he went for a stick-lift.
- The Oilers can’t find a single lane to move the puck through. Excellent penalty kill by Montreal.
- Edmonton continues to rack up zone time, but is getting few chances from it.
- The shot disparity now is because the Oilers are getting high shots through and the Canadiens can’t connect on their plays at the top of the crease. Sometimes the shots tell the story. Not in this game.
- Another wide shot from close range, this time from Kirby Dach.
- McDavid comes very close to holding Juraj Slafkovský on a potential breakaway, but it was all just little clutches that the ref allowed.
- Matheson fires a pass toward the stick of Brendan Gallagher and get a tip for the opening goal. Or maybe it was just another wide shot. We’ll never know.
What a deflection by Brendan Gallagher! 1-0 Habs over the Oilers!
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 10:19 PM
[image or embed]
- Eight goals for Gallagher. He’s on pace for 30 again.
#FunFact: with his goal tonight, #Habs Brendan Gallagher ties Max Pacioretty for 18th most in franchise history!
— Priyanta Emrith (@habsinhighheels.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 10:21 PM
- A rare last-minute goal. The Canadiens’ defence allowed that to stand as the go-ahead marker.
Third period
- RDS begins the third period with a graphic showing that Montreal’s last nine goals have been scored by nine different players.
- The Oilers tried two times to get a change after clearing their zone. Hutson just sent the puck right back to a forward for another attack both times.
- A very good fourth-line shift. When they’re not taking penalties, they’ve been very effective lately.
- Leon Draisaitl skates right through Montembeault while waiting for a pass. That could have been an easy interference call.
- Cole Caufield goes right after Draisaitl in the Oilers’ zone and strips the puck. Three passes later, it’s a goal for Kaiden Guhle.
Goal entirely set up by Cole Caufield pantsing Leon Draisaitl in the OZ too
— Scott Matla (@scottmatla.bsky.social) November 18, 2024 at 10:49 PM
[image or embed]
- That will help Caufield’s chances of making Team USA.
- The fourth line just hemmed the Oilers in their zone for about 90 seconds, with a flurry of chances. The top line comes out and a tired Edmonton group takes a penalty. What a night for that trio.
- Hutson changed on an icing call, so they waved it off. Now they just waved off one on a puck shot down the ice from the Oilers’ zone. The second one was more of a head-scratcher.
- The Oilers have pulled Pickard with five minutes to play. Such is the quality of Montreal’s defensive effort.
- Montreal is perfectly happy to treat this like a five-on-six penalty kill.
- Jake Evans sens a high lob down the ice and makes this a 3-0 game with three minutes to play.
- The “Olés’ are in the air.
- Don’t look now, but the Canadiens are three points back of a wild-card spot. Or look if you want. i’m not the boss of you.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) The depth is beginning to benefit them now
2) A board worker to his core
1) It should be an entertaining final three-quarters of the season
