10 Thoughts: Caps overpower the Habs in the third for a 4-2 win

For this Saturday night’s event at the Bell Centre, the conference-leading Capitals were in town to challenge the somewhat resurgent Canadiens. The Habs came into tonight’s game on a season-high two-game winning streak, but would they be able to translate their recent solid play into a third win on the trot? After all, The Capitals only had a single win since their last loss …

… but, alas, it was not to be. After the Habs played a strong period and an even one, the Capitals pressed hard in the third period and found the extra gear they needed to overpower the home team. And Logan Thompson, the Capitals’ netminder, deserves full credit as well, keeping the net clean after the two first-period goals.

Starting Lines

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

Hutson – Matheson
Struble – Guhle
Xhekaj – Savard

Montembeault
Primeau

10 Thoughts

1) Coming out of the gets, the Canadiens looked ready and energized, and immediately started to take the game to the Capitals. It would be an exaggeration to say that the bleu blanc et rouge were dominant early, but they were certainly competitive, and both Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield had solid scoring opportunities before the four-minute mark, only to be turned away by Logan Thompson.

2) Eleven minutes into the game, the work paid off, as Lane Hutson sent the top line on a rush. Newhook got the puck ahead to Caufield, and the sniper passed the puck back to Newhook just as the speedy winger was crossing the Washington blue line. Newhook held on to the puck for two or three seconds before sending a laser-guided shot into the top far corner of the net, beating Thompson on the glove side.

3) Kirby Dach was fighting for the puck in the defensive zone when Hendrix Lapierre tripped on Dach’s stick. Unfortunate, but it was still a justified penalty. However, with Alexander Ovechkin on the injured reserve, the Capitals’ power play is certainly less potent, and the Habs’ top-three-ranked power play was up to the challenge. They kept the Washington power play to the outside, and the Armia-Evans-Guhle-Xhekaj unit was particularly effective in clearing the pucks from the zone. And Samuel Montembeault certainly contributed with a few key saves.

4) With four minutes remaining in the period, the first line broke into the Caps’ zone again, but this time it was Caufield scoring, with Newhook taking on the Gallagher role of causing havoc in front of the net. 2-0 for Montreal.

5) Most independent observers would have reckoned that the Capitals would receive a talking-to from head coach Spencer Carbery between the periods and would come out roaring for the second period. However, the Habs seemed somewhat shell-shocked by the increased pace. And it was near-panic in the defensive zone when Pierre-Luc Dubois ripped a shot from just inside the blue line. Montembeault was screened by the traffic in front, and appeared not to see the coming shot at all. The lead was down to a single goal, then.

6) Newhook, open all alone in front of the Washington net, got a pass from Caufield late in the second period, but was not able to attempt a shot as Thompson quickly dived to make a backhand poke check and clear the puck. Yet another opportunity lost there.

7) The third period didn’t see the Canadiens sitting back, but the attacks by the Capitals were increasingly relentless. This finally paid dividends to the visitors with a little more than seven minutes elapsed, as Kaiden Guhle fell down near the Montreal blue line, enabling Aliaksei Protas to move in. Mike Matheson contributed by not effectively tracking Tom Wilson, and then Montembeault gave up a rather juicy rebound, enabling Wilson to pick it up and tuck it past him, tying up the game. As is the case so often, it’s not a single mistake that leads to a goal against, but so often it’s a sequence of individual problems that make it possible.

8) Five minutes later, David Savard turned over the puck at the blue line, and it was Protas again creating the scoring opportunity, and Wilson potted his second of the game to put the Capitals in the lead, for the first time tonight, at 3-2.

9) Seconds later, Josh Anderson was called for interference at the Washington blue line, sending the Capitals to their second power play of the night. Montembeault made saves on some key scoring opportunities, and Matheson cleared the puck from the goal line after a shot to the post, but it turned out not to be enough. Carbery called a timeout and was able to keep his top power play unit on the ice against a tired set of Montreal defenders, and it was enough to solve Montembeault as Dylan Strome scored an insurance goal to make it 4-2.

10) A late Lane Hutson holding penalty pretty much sealed the loss for the Canadiens, but they made a valiant effort to score after that, with Montembeault on the bench–and then John Carlson in the penalty box. However, Thompson locked the doors and slammed the deadbolts, and the Habs’ big shooters were unable to solve Thompson even with a 6-on-4 power play. Thompson had already poked away Newhook and made saves on five breakaways by my count (Gallagher, Jayden Struble, Josh Anderson, Nick Suzuki–and Gallagher again) so he was not going to concede a late goal now.

HW Habs Three Stars

First Star: Cole Caufield (1g, 1a, 5 shots, +1, 17:51 TOI) did what he does best, put a puck in the net, and also assisted on Alex Newhook’s marker. A solid game for the diminutive winger, even if there were no power play goals to be had on the night.

Second Star: Arber Xhekaj (0g, 0a, 1 shot, +0, 18:26 TOI) continued his much-improved recent play, and played a key role on penalty kill as well. Playing responsibly and avoiding defensive errors are keys to future success in the NHL as he battles for a role on the Montreal blue line corps.

Third Star: Patrik Laine (0g, 0a, 4 shots, +0, 16:54 TOI) didn’t score in his third game with the time, but the reconstituted second line, with Laine, Dach, and Anderson, is improving, and now recorded the best xGF% of any of the four forward lines. They still have much work to do, but the direction seems to be correct.