First period
- Denis Gurianov’s first shift as a Montreal Canadiens players includes a glass-ratting hit in the defensive zone and his first shot on goal.
- Kaiden Guhle was also on the ice, a little bit unfamiliar with where he was supposed to be playing, but that will get ironed out.
- Montreal’s second shift ends to the sound of a fog horn as the San Jose Sharks get an early goal.
- Jonathan Drouin’s bid for his first goal of the season is stopped by the glove of Kaapo Kahkonen on a power play. It’s probably better to give the puck to Gurianov for those chances, as the Habs do moments later for his second shot of the contest.
- I looked it up and Dadonov had five shots and a goal in his first game with the Dallas Stars, so that’s the benchmark for this Gurianov debut I guess.
- Other than that score, it’s been a good start for the Canadiens, and if your only concern is Connor Bedard, that’s good, too.
- Guhle blasts a shot from the top of the left circle, shifts over to the other side for a wrist shot, then drops down below the goal line as a delayed penalty is coming to San Jose. This is the type of play I was looking forward to in his return.
- Craig Button is singing the praises of Josh Anderson. He is playing one of his engaged games tonight.
- Now a shot from Guhle from about 10 feet in front of the net. You have to love the aggressiveness.
- Jake Allen tried to clear the puck himself on a penalty kill. Or maybe he wants the goaltenders to start playing more offensively, too.
- Now Button is comparing Allen’s puck-handling skills to those of Carey Price, so maybe take that Anderson praise with a grain of salt.
- Suzuki’s shot goes through Kahkonen’s glove but dribbles past the post.
- A high-event first period ends with 16 shots for Montreal and 14 for San Jose. That’s much more preferable to watching the Sharks completely shut Montreal down in the neutral zone that we watched for a decade./
Second period
- Suzuki’s pass just goes a few feet behind a rushing Gurianov, preventing a mini breakaway for the newest Hab.
- Now Pezzetta just misses a breakaway. Montreal is catching San Jose’s defence in this long-change period.
- The game’s first bit of animosity comes as Evgeny Svechnikov pokes at Jake Allen. Guhle and Anderson come to his defence. The referee calls a slash on the pole and a rough on Anderson, so it’s four-on-four.
- Gurianov and Suzuki share a laugh as their passing play just fails to click.
- Gurianov races down the wall, shields the puck from Erik Karlsson, and gets a shot on goal. This is the exact play our contact at the Sharks sister site mentioned when we talked to them, so expect to see that a lot (hopefully ending in a goal next time).
- Two more looks for Gurianov. He’s been noticeable for sure.
- A hit from Jesse Ylönen into the numbers goes uncalled by the ref standing right there, so it must have been embellished.
- And yet another great show for Gurianov. He fires a puck that ended up in his feet and just put it a fee inches wide of the net.
- The final minute was one mad scramble for the Sharks around Montreal’s net. Allen does his best Price impression to keep them from doubling their lead./
Third period
- The third period begins with a shot high and wide from Gurianov. He’s getting lots of target practice in to adjust the sights.
- I haven’t type Mike Hoffman’s name much tonight despite him playing with Suzuki and Gurianov. He’s probably just be stepping back to let the new guy have the spotlight tonight.
- This just in: Jonathan Quick has been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, so Montreal may be facing the player they traded for Joonas Korpisalo, on Thursday.
- David Savard races to clear a puck sitting behind Allen before a Shark could attack it.
- Guhle sees the puck sliding right into the high slot, races up like he’s taking an attempt in the hardest shot competition, and beats Kahkonen five-hole.
- He very nearly scores from the low slot moments after the next faceoff. He’s having fun.
- The goal has added a drop of blood to the Shark Tank and the Habs are circling.
- Rem Pitlick gets a breakaway. It’s pretty good chance to score, but Ylönen using his speed to pull up right alongside him creates an even better one, and it’s a easy tap-in for the Finn.
- It’s probably really fun to be able to move as fast on the ice as Ylönen can. I hope more goals will flow for him now.
- A couple of Allen saves, and a Christian Dvorak goal, and the Canadiens now have back-to-back wins in San Jose./
EOTP 3 Stars
3) You cant beat the present of a Habs win
2) An impressive debut for Gurianov
1) As I type this at 2:07 AM, I agree with all of these points
