The Montreal Canadiens were hosting the Anaheim Ducks at the Bell Centre tonight. The big question was whether Lane Hutson could notch a point in a seventh consecutive game to break the record set by Glen Harmon and matched 41 years later by Chris Chelios.
When Patrik Laine opened the score with his third goal in four games (all on the power play), Hutson got a secondary assist, wasting no time to break the record. As soon as he did it though, the watch for how long he’ll be able to keep it going for started.
Related: Canadiens: It’s His Record Now
Samuel Montembeault was the busiest of the two goalies in the first frame, facing 11 shots. The netminder only surrendered one goal when no one was on hand to collect the rebound he gave on an acrobatic save.
The Canadiens only shot five times on Lukas Dostal’s net, and their last shot of the period came at 5:18. Montreal only took one shot on goal while it was on the man-advantage as well, the one Laine scored on. Overall it was a dreadful first frame for the Habs as execution was lacking and they seemed unable to shake it off.
The Canadiens looked re-energized in the second period, but did play with fire, getting called on two quick penalties. They killed the first one, but when Arber Xhekaj took one straight after Alex Newhook was allowed back onto the ice, Troy Terry scored his second of the game to put the Ducks in front.
Their lead wouldn’t last for long however, Laine sent the puck behind Lukas Dostal’s net who came out to handle it and missed. Juraj Slafkovsky inherited the puck and spotted Kirby Dach in front who only had to push it in, bringing everyone back to square one.
The goal seemed to help the cohesion on the second line and it was quite threatening for the rest of the period. They were linking up well on passing plays, getting shots off as well and just being much more efficient as a unit.
Much like Logan Thompson on Saturday night, Dostal got to face a few shots by Canadiens players in all alone, and stopped them all. Anderson on a two-on-one in which he decided to shoot, Christian Dvorak on a clear cut breakaway and Gallagher on his backhand, none of them could beat him.
Kaiden Guhle got into a rare fight with Ryan Strome when the Ducks’ center took exception with the way he tried to prevent him from approaching Montembeault. Not very reassuring considering Guhle has had concussions in the past, but he seemed fine afterwards.
Montreal came out swinging in the third, dominating the Ducks, and pushing them in the ropes, but they just couldn’t deliver the fatal blow, the goal that would have given them the lead. After 7:15, the Canadiens had 20 of their 21 shots on the night and it just shows how this young team is still inconsistent.
Watching this team is like a roller coaster, you don’t know what’s coming next, you’ll get a massive high with a fantastic power play goal off a great power play, but straight after that, they can go 15 minutes without even taking a shot on net.
Thankfully, Montembeault stood tall, not only for the remainder of the third frame, but also for the overtime period. The Ducks did ring one off the crossbar, but there was no harm done.
In the shootout, St-Louis elected to send Laine out first and the big Finn did not disappoint with a perfect shot that clipped the inside of the post and went in to put the Canadiens in front. Mason McTavish then shot for the Ducks but couldn’t beat the Habs’ netminder. Then, Montreal’s second sniper, Cole Caufield find the hole to score on Dostal, giving Montreal a two goal lead and when Terry was unable to beat Montembeault, the Canadiens claimed the extra point.
After the game, the goaltender was questioned about his workload and explained:
It’s taking care of my body off the ice. Sometimes I only do a goalie warm up with Eric or just one or two drills and then I get off. Like this morning I only did my warm-up with him and I got off, skipping the morning skate. It’s taking care of my body, listening to it and right now it’s going very well.
Seeing so much action seems to suit to Quebec-born netminder just fine and that’s priceless to this team right now as it seems unable to rely on backup Cayden Primeau.
Related: Canadiens Must Be Careful Not To Overload Montembeault
After the coach was told Dach spoke about the support of his teammate meaning so much to him, the bench boss said:
Of course, when you’re building something you need empathy and compassion. The guys all know what he’s coming back from and what he’s going through right now. They’re there for him, they’re happy for him and we hope this goal will help him feel good and put some wind in his sails.
While the coach was happy with the result tonight, he would like his team to play more to its identity. Play fast both with and without the puck, which allows his men to show the better side of themselves.
What a return to action for Laine, a goal, an assist and a shootout goal to cap it all off. That’s three goals in four games since coming back and he’s doing it with limited ice time as well, which is great considering it takes some time for the cardio and the game shape to be completely back after such a lengthy absence.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Thursday night to close out their homestand with a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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