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Canadiens vs. Rangers Top Six Minutes: The folly of youth

Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
  • Montreal honours its 70s dynasty teams before the game, with many of the franchise’s legends heading out to centre ice.
  • One day in the far future we will see a smiling, rotund Cole Caufield doing this, and that’s fun to think about.

First period

  • The ceremony inspired the Habs, who come out flying and nearly score a goal in the opening minutes.
  • Then the play goes the other way and the Rangers score. Mike Zibanejad beat Samuel Montembeault with a mid-range shot.
  • The new second line gets two good scoring chances following the goal, so they haven’t been discouraged.
  • Montembeault calls for an icing. Neither Jayden Struble not Logan Mailloux skate hard enough to get to the puck, New York picks it up first, and Jonny Brodzinski scores the second goal of the period on the worst sequence of the Canadiens’ season so far.
  • At least the Habs are still trying to generate offence. The goal has shifted Mailloux into a higher gear as he tries to get it back.
  • A great shift ends with Lane Hutson circling back to start another rush. He loses the puck to Reilly Smith, and a mini-breakaway results in the 3-0 goal.
  • So the strategy of just brute-forcing thing to get a goal back backfired. At some point the team will just have to start playing actual, effective hockey.
  • Josh Anderson lays a light cross-check at the bench, and the referee decides that what this game really needs is a Rangers power play.
  • But, that does mean we see the Canadiens in their best situation.
  • Jake Evans kills off several seconds by taking the puck to the Rangers zone. New york counters and makes it 4-0.
  • Cayden Primeau is coming in.
  • Two Habs players fall over each other making sure to get to the puck on a icing. I’m going to qualify that as progress.
  • Nick Suzuki starts the comeback off a great play by Anderson.
  • This game isn’t over yet. Montreal’s energy level has been high all game (except for that one icing).
  • Kaapo Kakko and Jake Evans get into a skirmish in front of Primeau. We’ll play some four-on-four.
  • Caufield clangs one off the post.
  • David Savard raced back to get an icing with about a second left on the clock. The linesman yells “no ice” just before he gets to the puck that had already crossed the line.
  • Who knew that icing was going to the most controversial part of this hockey game.
  • Oddly enough, that was actually a good period for Montreal save for a couple of momentary disasters. So that’s three of the last four periods that they’ve looked good.

Second period

  • The Rangers nearly add a fifth goal on the first shift of the period, but the puck goes off the post.
  • Dach tips a shot just wide of the net. Plenty of chances for goals from the Montreal side.
  • Brendan Gallagher drives to the net after his own rebound and got hauled down. He didn’t even have time to complain before the ref blew the play down, so kudos to the official.
  • Nick Suzuki gains the zone by passing the puck to himself, then the seas part to allow him to cruise right through the slot and backhand the puck around Igor Shesterkin. It’s a game now.
  • I would deem that goal “assertive.”
  • The pressure is on the Rangers every shift now.
  • New York nearly breaks it with another quick-strike goal. It seems every shot they’ve taken has either gone in or off the post.
  • This Rangers shot goes in the net. 5-2.
  • That fifth goal seems to have demoralized the Habs. They were all over the Rangers, but allowing one half chance and seeing the deficit grow has taken the wind out of the sails.
  • Suzuki and Caufield think they have a two-on-one from their blue line, but the ref blows the play dead to call Mike Matheson for a roughing penalty.
  • Again the penalty kill looks great.
  • I don’t think the Rangers had a shot in those two minutes.

Third period

  • An early trip of Evans gives the Habs a chance.
  • Shesterkin just advanced out of his net to cut down Caufield’s sharp-angle shot. The Rangers have watched some video.
  • Jacob Trouba lands a crushing hit on Justin Barron as the Habs defenceman is trying to gain the zone. Trouba’s shoulder went directly to Barron’s head, and Montreal”s blue-liner needs help to get off the ice.
  • The Habs are running out of guys who can play the right side.
  • In the end, it’s a Rangers power after Matheson went after Trouba following the hit.
  • The Rangers hit another post.
  • Hutson sends a perfect pass to Anderson, but Anderson can’t direct it in.
  • Joel Armia hit the post in the dying seconds of the power play.
  • The Rangers add a sixth goal.
  • The Rangers add a seventh goal.
  • The shots were 19-19 at the time of the 5-2 goal I believe. They’re now 41-21 New York.
  • Does Jakub Dobes get his first NHL start on Saturday?

EOTP 3 Stars

3) A fair criticism. The team shouldn’t look this bad.

2) They stayed in it until they didn’t

1) Someone needs to lower the blue line

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