It’s been a long time since the Canadiens played a competitive hockey game, and as we saw at the Bell Centre during yesterday’s Red vs. White Scrimmage, the fans are eager to see the team play.
These games are all about seeing how the young players fare versus NHL competition (such as it is in games that don’t mean anything). The most interesting to watch on the Habs side are Logan Mailloux on defence with Jordan Harris’s stabilizing presence to lean on, Alex Newhook, and Juraj Slafkovský on one line, and Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, and Jesse Ylönen on another — two players eager to show they’re ready to play in the NHL and another one who needs to.
First period
- Slafkovský gets a chance early, which is a good sign
- Now Montreal heads to the power play. It will also be good to see some improvement in this area as well, though the Canadiens don’t have their biggest guns in this game for that.
- Guhle gets a shot through. Will we see more from him in this situation this season?
- Matt is mashing his record button to capture the goal that comes on the power play, because it’s from Joshua Roy. Expect much gushing in tomorrow’s BSM.
- Roy had the whole right side of the ice to himself, which probably doesn’t impress Lindy Ruff, but we’re happy to see plenty more of it.
- After the goal the second-biggest cheer comes for Arber Xhekaj stopping a cycle in its tracks and getting a change in possession.
- Defensive play is still a bit too scrambly and just players reacting to where the puck ends up rather than anticipating where it’s going. That’s going to be the one real area Martin St-Louis and his coaching staff need to make improvements this season.
- The Devils tie the game as Samuel Montembeault drops to his back to make a save. Unlike a Sumo wrestler, he’s not as thick as he is tall, and the puck gets past him.
- Josh Anderson uses his speed, and a quick spin to get the puck on net, and Slafkovský follows up with another chance.
- We’re seeing a little bit of 2021-22 Montembeault here who looks like he’s dealing with spilled oil in the crease.
- The penalty-kill positioning is of course more disciplined than the typical five-on-five version. Just have to apply more of that at full strength to cut these D-zone shifts short. The hot margin being 13-6 for New Jersey at the end of the period is largely due to those extended presences.
Second period
- Xavier Simoneau makes a nice defensive play with some of that anticipating I was lamenting the lack of in the first period, but then takes penalty moments later. Such is the life of a honey badger.
- Montembeault gets fooled by a puck bouncing off the boards and New Jersey takes a 1-0 lead. At least he will only spend one-third of his starts dealing with the boards at this end this season.
- Harris doesn’t just want to be the safety valve on this pairing with Mailloux. He drives to the net with the puck, and it results in a Canadiens power play.
- Xhekaj gets his chance to lead a power-play unit. Gets a bit too confident and tries to dangle through the neutral zone.
- Anderson is much better at such things, and wins himself a mini break with his speed.
- A good effort from Ylönen do work to the middle, dish off the puck, then go to the net looking for a tip or rebound. NHL teams won’t be as cognizant of his shooting talents as AHL clubs are, and he could do some damage on a power play if he keeps making plays.
- Mailoux has no gas in the tank at the end of his power-play shift, and two Devils players get behind him for a chance.
- An entertaining game so far. At the very least, the Laval Rocket should be a lot of fun.
- Speaking of which, into the game comes Jakub Dobes — and his red pads — just in time for a Habs penalty kill.
- More good play from Ylönen to thwart the Devils on two occasions on the PK. He just has too much ability to not pan out.
- Mailloux goes one-on-four on a short-handed rush and is therefore unable to get back to defend the front of his net. I don’t think that is what’s going to earn him his spot, and the coaches will no doubt be conveying the same message, though they can’t be upset about his confidence.
- Dawson Mercer has the goal to make it 3-1
- But Anderson capitalizes on some open space, and a great pass from David Reinbacher, to make it 3-2 and give the fans something to cheer about.
- Anderson slides into the middle of the ice and fires the puck off the crossbar. He’s having a lot of fun playing with these young guys, and it’s great to see him carrying over his second half of last year into a new season.
Third period
- Former Hab Keith Kinkaid comes into the Devils crease for the third period.
- The Roy-Beck-Ylönen line continues to make something happen each time it’s on the ice. I think we’re going to see that trio two or three more times in this pre-season.
- They won’t see the ice for a bit longer here because Ylönen goes to the box for slashing.
- It’s a short PK though, because New Jersey has its third man-advantage goal of the evening.
- Another Xhekaj hit gets a big cheer from the crowd. One person’s voice rises above the others. Must be the fan who ranked him #1 in our Top 25 Under 25.
- Slafkovský gets the puck around the net, and Newhook knocks it off the post. It’s really the first time the Slovak has done anything of note since the opening period.
- Another great shift from the Beck line, with Guhle and Reinbacher on the ice. A pretty good fivesome.
- And there’s the first real Ylönen shot as he nearly shatters Kinkaid’s collarbone looking for the top corner. Again, just too much talent to fail.
- Dobes comes way out of his crease to shut down a Devils chance. We’ve seen two big, athletic goalies in this one.
- Joining the rush at even strength, getting into position for a pass, hanging around for a chance, then getting back to his position when the opportunity doesn’t come is a much more sustainable strategy from Mailloux.
- A late flurry of shots, but the Canadiens can’t cut into the deficit, and the game finishes 4-2 for the visitors.
- That will do it for this game. We’ll see Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Mike Matheson, and co. on Wednesday night when the Ottawa Senators come to town.
EOTP 3 Stars will return once the regular season begins
