Canadiens – canucks Canadiens Storm Back For Big Win
For the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens completely failed against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. They struggled in the first period and then found their rhythm, but they improved their game in the second period and reached a new level in the final period.
By scoring three goals in the third period, the Habs showed they have the ability to completely turn the game around, making even a slow start less dangerous, but still, playing with fire is better than nothing.
With the Canadiens trailing 2-0, captain Nick Suzuki took charge and scored his second goal of the season on the power play. Like his first, this goal came thanks to a brilliant setup by Ivan Demidov.
With this goal, Suzuki continued his scoring streak. He now has one point in his last nine games and shows no signs of slowing down, especially since Demidov is now playing on the first leg of the power play.
In the first 40 minutes, Arber Zekaj received two minor fouls, neither of which were particularly good. The first was a hooking call, and the second was an interference call that should never have happened. Not because the referee made a bad decision, but because Zekaj should never have played that game.
Thankfully, the Canucks weren’t able to capitalize on the man advantage and score, so no damage was done, but it’s not the kind of game any coach likes to see, and Zekaj was benched afterward. He only got to play 20 seconds after that, including four seconds from the penalty bench. He spent a total of 6:37 minutes on the ice tonight, and for good reason.
It’s a shame, because he had a great training camp. With Caden Guhle’s injury, he should have played without any concerns. The Habs won’t trade a young defenseman who’s one of their regulars… unless he crosses the line. Will St. Louis admit that Zekaj crossed the line tonight? It will be interesting to know, but their reaction after the game suggests that maybe…
For the first time in his young career, Ivan Demidov scored three points in a single game, including two assists and an even-strength goal on the power play. His first assist was his usual cross-zone pass on a man advantage, which Suzuki immediately converted into a goal. It was the captain’s second goal of the year, and like the first, it was scored from a Demidov feed on the power play (when Suzuki was playing on both units after Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine were injured).
The young player’s second assist also came on the power play. He had a shot, and with so many players in front of the net, he didn’t try to make the shot; He passed directly to Juraj Slafkovski, who was wide open. This isn’t the first time he’s shown composure beyond his years, and I suspect it won’t be the last.
He missed a golden opportunity to score on a man-advantage off a brilliant pass from Suzuki, but he made up for it by scoring his fourth goal on a five-on-five play, which proved to be the winning goal of the match. Speaking after the match, Martin St-Louis said there were two reasons for placing Demidov on the power play. First, to increase his ice time, and second, it was something he had to earn; he wasn’t going to lose it immediately. After the match, Demidov led all rookies in scoring with nine points in 10 games.
However, Demidov wasn’t the only rookie who performed brilliantly tonight; Jacob Dobbs was also there. The 24-year-old netminder was solid throughout the match, and the three goals he allowed weren’t bad either. The first goal came from a close-range shot by Elias Pettersson while he was alone on one side. The second goal came from a brilliant deflection by Jake DeBrusk, and the final goal came when Conor Garland was alone in the slot to deflect a shot.
However, even more importantly, Dobbs made crucial saves for his team after scoring. These saves help the team separate itself from the opponent and build confidence. His confidence is also very helpful. When a shooter comes from the wing, he challenges them; he moves forward to create angles—something a goaltender struggling with confidence cannot do. Like Demidov, Dobbs also leads the rookie class; he is the only rookie with a 5-0-0 record, and he has the lowest goals-against average (1.77) and save percentage (.940).
Finally, it’s worth noting that it was Mike Matheson who scored the crucial third goal, as if to say, “I don’t need power play time.” It was also a brilliant play. He faked a shot from the blueline, dodged a defender, moved inbounds, and then took the actual shot, which went past Kevin Lankin.
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