10 Thoughts: Winnipeg’s power play overcomes an improved Habs effort

The bleu, blanc et rouge arrived in Winnipeg mostly as bleu et noir, having been embarrassed 9-2 by the Pittsburgh Penguins. There may or may not have been a bag skate in advance of the game, but clearly, the players got the message and would take Winnipeg seriously.

And they did indeed play one of their stronger games, largely controlling play in the first and third periods, and not succumbing under pressure. This one came down to the special teams, though, as the Jets scored two power-play goals–and an empty-netter– to take a 4-2 victory over the Canadiens.

Starting Lines

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

Hutson – Matheson
Guhle – Barron
Xhekaj – Savard

Montembeault
Primeau

10 Thoughts

1) The Habs started off with speed and commitment, a far cry from the final period against Pittsburgh. Responsible defensive play combined with attacks and shots on net, playing with the kind of verve we have rarely seen this season. Their efforts paid off just before the eight-minute mark, as Mike Matheson fed the puck to Lane Hutson. The rookie defenceman moved into the left-hand faceoff dot and wired a shot past Connor Hellebuyck’s glove on the far side for his first NHL goal, after 19 assists in his first 29 games this season. Second in the number of points scored by rookies, confounding all those who thought he was too small for the NHL.

2) The Canadiens kept up the tempo for the first half of the period, but gradually the Jets started taking more initiative, and Samuel Montembeault started getting busier. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor combined on a two-on-one rush, but Arber Xhekaj executed a well-timed sliding block to prevent Scheifele from getting the puck to Connor.

3) Where things started to fall apart was the Kirby Dach high-sticking penalty two-thirds of the way through the frame. The Jets’ power play was working well, and Connor sent a hard pass across the front of the net to Gabriel Vilardi, who had nary a defenceman bothering him and tapped the puck into the empty side of the net. Mike Matheson and David Savard were focused on watching Connor, but neither one covered Vilardi at the far post. The end result was an open man next to the net–and a puck in the open net.

4) It got worse two minutes later when Nino Niederreiter passed the puck from behind Montembeault’s goal to the front, where Adam Lowry was able to wire it in. Hutson tried to move Lowry out from the danger zone, but Lowry has 50 lbs of additional weight on him and was not willing to be moved, so the Jets took over the lead in the game.

5) Cole Caufield was called for hooking four minutes into the second period for slashing Scheifele. This really feels like either immaturity or lack of coaching: getting your stick onto the other player’s gloves will almost always result in a slashing penalty. But 30 seconds later, Christian Dvorak cross-checked Scheifele for no obvious reason, giving the Jets a two-man advantage. And that’s all it took for Winnipeg to stretch the lead to two games, as Connor got a quick pass from Josh Morrissey and buried the puck from next to the right-side goalpost for a 3-1 lead.

6) The Habs did get their power-play opportunity shortly thereafter when Alex Iafallo slashed Josh Anderson. The power play looked pretty good, with solid control of the puck–kudos to Hutson for keeping the puck in the zone on one potential break–but the scoring is still a challenge, in spite of the control and the movement.

7) Montembeault made a series of good strong saves on Connor, Mason Appleton, and Cole Perfetti late in the period to keep the game within reach, and had to continue those in the third once the Jets went back into the attack.

8) At 8:00, Anderson scored his fifth of the season, beating Hellebuyck with a hard shot when the rebound from Dvorak’s scoring attempt came out in front of the net. The gap was down to a single goal, with 12 minutes still left in regulation.

9) The Anderson goal gave the Habs a boost of confidence, and they were repeatedly containing the Jets in their own zone and applying pressure. However, the Jets’ top line was able to turn the tables and their top line was controlling the play in the Montreal zone, while the defenders were clearly getting gassed. The end result was a defensive-zone penalty, this time for Gallagher for slashing. An exemplary penalty kill followed, but there were only 90 seconds after that.

10) With 57 seconds left on the clock, Patrik Laine created a glorious opportunity to tie it up, but Hellebuyck blocked his hard shot, and the rebound hit Juraj Slafkovsky in the chest. Hellebuyck grabbed the puck as it came back toward the net, though, negating the scoring chance. And then, with just a few seconds remaining, Vladislav Namestnikov hit the empty net to make the final score 4-2 Winnipeg.

HW Habs Three Stars

First Star: Lane Hutson (1g, 0a, 1 shot, +1, 21:58 TOI) once again demonstrated his repertoire of moves and this time he found an opening to put the puck into the net. That goal will surely be followed by many more, some of those this year as his stock for the Calder Trophy voting continues to go up.

Second Star: Josh Anderson (1g, 0a, 1 shot, +1, 13:04 TOI) took advantage of the work of his linemates, potting a goal from the rebound of a Dvorak shot to bring the game within one. He’s an expensive third-liner but he has found his mojo again and is quite effective in the role.

Third Star: Patrik Laine (0g, 0a, 7 shots, -1, 16:13 TOI) peppered his former teammate with shots and was deliciously close several times but could not quite get the puck into the Winnipeg net.