The Habs went 2-1-1 during the third week of December, and now sit second in the Atlantic Division with a record of 19-12-5.
Montreal’s week got off to a rocky start after Sunday’s commanding win over the Edmonton Oilers, faltering against the Philadelphia Flyers. After Alexandre Texier opened the scoring just a minute into the game, the Habs went on to allow four straight and lose 4-1, with Jacob Fowler ending up placing the dagger himself after a turnover behind the net.
Montreal put together a strong bounce-back performance against the Connor Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks, with Jakub Dobeš having his best game in weeks and Lane Hutson showing out with a trio of assists. Montreal compounded that performance into another commanding win on Saturday against the Penguins that saw Jacob Fowler respond to his blunder earlier in the week with a 31-save shutout, the first of his career.
The Habs capped off the week with a shootout loss against the Penguins. Montreal came out of the gates hot, fell apart in the middle frame, and lost in a shootout after a snake-bitten overtime. To be fair, the Habs didn’t necessarily deserve the win, but after one of the most dominant overtimes they’ve played this year, Montreal would have liked to squeak out the win.
Montreal Canadiens’ Three Stars
Unsung hero: Owen Beck (4GP | 1G 0A 1P)
Owen Beck is absolutely deserving of this award, scoring his first NHL goal for the third time and stepping in and helping to fill the hole left by Jake Evans. Beck was one of only four forwards who weren’t on the ice for a goal against the Flyers; in fact, Beck wasn’t on the ice for a goal against all week. He’s playing better in Montreal than he was in Laval, and with the injury to Evans he should still be with the big club in the New Year.
Third Star: Josh Anderson (4GP | 2G 1A 3P)
Josh Anderson had a fantastic week, finally converting his excellent defensive play into a goal. He had three points in three games coming into Sunday’s loss against the Penguins. With at least four short-handed breakaways last week, he could have had more than his single short-handed goal. Since letting his defence define his game, Anderson’s offensive impact has been largely an afterthought (although with a $5.5-million cap hit, it would be nice). His foot speed gets him consistent chances, but he’s struggled to finish over the last two years, only managing 24 goals over the last two seasons.
Second Star: Nick Suzuki (4GP |1 G 2A 3P)
With Jake Evans missing the last 90 minutes of the week, Nick Suzuki re-took his place on unit one of the penalty kill and averaged more than 20 minutes, including more than 23 minutes in Sunday’s loss. He leads all Canadiens forwards in blocks, and at this point should be a lock for Team Canada after going toe-to-toe with Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby in the last 10 days and coming out on top on two of three occasions.
First star: Lane Hutson (4GP | 0G 4A 4P)
Lane Hutson had another elite week offensively. After being held off the scoresheet against the Flyers, he stormed back against the Blackhawks with a three-point night. He marked a milestone against the Penguins on Saturday, scoring his 100th career point after just 120 games with the CH. He became the 11th-fastest defenceman in NHL history, and the second-fastest amongst active defencemen, to reach the mark.
Hutson was a workhorse, leading Habs defencemen in ice time. During Mike Matheson’s two-game absence, Hutson averaged 26:43 per game and collected three of his four points. He continues to start the majority of his shifts in the offensive zone, but he’s becoming a high-end breakout defenceman as well, with unparalleled vision.
Laval Rocket player of the week
Tyler Thorpe (1GP | 1G 0A 1P)
Thorpe is probably the only player on the Laval Rocket who benefited from the carousel of recalls and the suspensions of key forwards, being moved to the Rocket’s top line. Laval dropped both of its games to the Cleveland Monsters last week, and Thorpe scored one of the Rocket’s two goals. He didn’t look out of place on the top line, though it would be surprising if he stayed on as the right-winger with Joshua Roy and Alex Belzile both returning to the lineup for the next game.
Next up
The Habs will play just one game this week (happy holidays!), a Tuesday-night matchup against the struggling Boston Bruins. After going 2-1-1 this week, Montreal is looking for one last present.
