10 Thoughts: Ugly First Period Costs Habs in Boston

After a frustrating end to Saturday’s loss in New York, the Habs were back at it Sunday, looking to spoil Boston’s Centennial Game.  However, a disastrous 70-second stretch in the first came back to haunt them as they fell 6-3.

Martin St. Louis made a pair of lineup changes for this one and no, one of them wasn’t Patrik Laine as his Canadiens debut will have to wait a little longer.  In goal, Cayden Primeau got the nod in place of Samuel Montembeault while on the back end, Jayden Struble returned while Justin Barron was a healthy scratch.  The rest of the team lined up as follows:

Caufield – Suzuki – Newhook
Slafkovsky – Dvorak – Gallagher
Roy – Dach – Anderson
Heineman – Evans – Armia

Hutson – Matheson
Guhle – Struble
Xhekaj – Savard

10 Thoughts

1) After a relatively quiet start – not shocking given the delayed start due to pregame ceremonies and the fact they played the day before – the Habs put together a couple of good shifts before the midway mark.  However, Mike Matheson rang a shot off the post and on the next shift, Kaiden Guhle had a lane to skate in and fire but his stick broke.  It was a sign of things to come for the second half of the frame.

2) A couple of shifts later, Boston set up control in the offensive zone.  Charlie McAvoy came down with the puck and got Primeau to bite on a deke that took him too far past his net.  That allowed him to wrap the puck around and stuff it past Primeau on the other side as the netminder wasn’t able to get back in time.  He simply lost his net, one of those plays where a lack of game reps didn’t help his cause.

3) On the next shift, the top defensive pairing, one that’s known for its offensive abilities, struggled in the defensive end.  After Primeau made a nice save on a cross-ice play, the Canadiens couldn’t get control and clear it out.  Eventually, Mike Matheson completely lost David Pastrnak in coverage.  That allowed the Boston sniper to slide out to the slot untouched and fire one past Primeau (who was screened by Matheson on the goal).

4) With some defensive miscues on the play, one would have thought that pairing would have come off the ice.  Nope.  Instead, they got hemmed in again and Matheson lost control of the puck behind the net.  After battling for it back, he wound up pushing it right to Mark Kastelic.  His shot got a piece of Charlie Coyle and before Primeau basically had time to react, it was 3-0.  There’s an old coaching adage that says never leave a defence pairing on after a goal.  In hindsight, that would have been wise advice to follow.

5) It looked like Montreal was going to get a chance to get back in it when they got an early power play following a delay of game penalty.  However, early in the advantage, Matheson sent the puck back toward the point.  However, there wasn’t anyone there, allowing McAvoy to collect it and skate in on a breakaway, beating Primeau to make it 4-0.  After Matheson had a strong game the day before against the Rangers in his first game back, this was anything but.

6) Arber Xhekaj isn’t known for his puck control skills but it was an element of his game back in junior.  He skated in from the blueline to the opposite side down low.  Rather than attempt a wraparound, he flipped a weak shot on net that went off Cole Caufield and in.  It wasn’t pretty but it didn’t matter.  However, it didn’t do much to get Montreal going either.

7) The Bruins got a power play of their own midway through the second when Lane Hutson went off for tripping.  Xhekaj threw a hit on Trent Frederic that drew the ire of some Bruins, eventually leading to him getting 12 penalty minutes on the play.  Meanwhile, Montreal got three rush chances shorthanded, a nice sign after their penalty kill let them down in New York.  The successful kill seemed to give them a bit of life as they were more aware and engaged in the back half of the period.  (Too bad they started 30 minutes late on that front.)

8) Alas, it didn’t carry over to the third.  On the opening shift, Cole Koepke intercepted an Alex Newhook pass at centre, skated into the offensive zone, and set up Coyle who deked out Primeau to make it 5-1.  A decent move, sure, but that’s one that Primeau needed to have, especially with what came next.

9) What came next was the Canadiens making it at least a little interesting.  First, Jake Evans set up Emil Heineman for a one-timer that got through Swayman.  Then four minutes later, Caufield squeaked one through that Swayman probably should have had.  All of a sudden, with 13 minutes left, it was a two-goal game.  Imagine if Primeau would have that Coyle shot earlier in the period.  That would have made for an entirely different game.

10) But the Habs couldn’t muster up a whole lot more from there.  Matheson rang another one off the post on a late power play but that was about as close as they could get.  Primeau, meanwhile, made a few stops of note to keep it close but the damage had been done.  St. Louis pulled the goalie on an offensive zone draw, a move that has backfired plenty of times and it did again as Boston won it, got control, and Koepke scored soon after to end any comeback hopes.  That first period lapse was ultimately the difference maker as once again, they couldn’t stop things from snowballing on them.

HW Habs 3 Stars

1st Star: Cole Caufield – It wasn’t his best game of the season by any stretch but he did score twice in the final game before rosters are due for the 4 Nations Cup.  He still probably isn’t making the roster but that’s a solid last-minute showing nonetheless.

Stats: 2 goals, -1 rating, 5 shots, 18:04 TOI

2nd Star: Emil Heineman – With Patrik Laine due to return soon, someone is losing their spot in the lineup.  It shouldn’t be Heineman, who continues to show he’s the right fit for Montreal’s bottom six.  His shot is a real weapon and the rest of his game is coming around slowly but surely.

Stats: 1 goal, even rating, 1 shot, 12:15 TOI

3rd Star: Jayden Struble – Martin St. Louis talked about his floor not being high enough some nights but to me, this was the type of performance where the floor is more than good enough to be a regular.  Nothing too flashy (though he did break up a breakaway), just largely steady minutes without much fanfare.  I’m perfectly fine with that on the third pairing.

Stats: 0 points, +1 rating, 1 shot, 17:50 TOI