SUMMARY
MONTREAL – The Canadiens became the fourth team this season to shut out the two-headed monster of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
Here are our observations of this evening during which the Montreal Canadiens held up admirably.
Slowing down the Oilers, real defensive proof
After receiving a “slap in the face”, to quote David Savard, the Canadian has recovered defensively in recent matches. But it was necessary to validate everything against a tougher opponent than the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Well, that performance was up to par against none other than McDavid and Draisaitl.
It was impossible to avoid the threats of this explosive combination, but Martin St-Louis’ protégés protected their territory well.
For Montreal, the most important thing remains that McDavid has only amassed a tiny assist in his last 13 periods at the Bell Centre.
“Yeah, that’s the direction we’re looking for,” admitted St-Louis, who remained calm as he asked the same thing of his troop.
In the coach’s eyes, we shouldn’t get too excited since it happened against Edmonton.
“Not necessarily. Yes, he is a difficult opponent, but we have to behave well against each opponent. When you play like that, with this attitude, you give yourself better chances,” added St-Louis, who loved his troop’s intelligent risk management.
Montembeault in great shape
In front of the net, Samuel Montembeault obviously played an important role in this mission. The Quebec goalkeeper has regained his composure in recent matches.
Without having to impress the gallery, he was very lively and alert in front of his cage.
A second shutout this season, that’s a good argument in front of Kyle Dubas, a member of Canada’s staff for the 4 Nations Showdown, who was present at the Bell Center.
“I didn’t know it before, but Chantal told me after the match. I’m happy, it couldn’t have been a better match for that. I just see the positive in it,” commented Montembeault.
An advance that lights up the Habs
By doing well against the Oilers, the Canadian increased his confidence of winning.
However, it was necessary to demonstrate opportunism and Brendan Gallagher showed it in full this summer. The combative winger redirected a serve from Mike Matheson to give CH the lead with 31 seconds remaining in the middle period. Honorable mention to Juraj Slafkovsky whose forecheck led to this goal, a great response from him after being benched on Saturday.
“I was so tired at the end of this shift that I don’t even remember my game,” Slafkovsky reacted with a laugh.
This cushion gave even more enthusiasm to Gallagher’s teammates who continued their collective effort to annoy the visitors.
“Our start was a little shaky, but we really found our bearings afterwards. We could feel that we were frustrating them a little and we progressed as the match went on,” targeted Gallagher.
“It was good, everyone was involved, a complete effort with several gestures that sometimes go unnoticed. Sam was excellent again, I liked how we managed to frustrate them,” described Cole Caufield, author of some great defensive interventions.
At the same time, Gallagher returned to second place among CH scorers with his eighth and he joined Max Pacioretty in 18th place in the history of Montreal scorers with his 226th.
Guhle rewarded for his bravery
Midway through the first half, Kaiden Guhle set a perfect example for his team. He sacrificed himself by stopping a ball from Evan Bouchard. Hit near the right wrist, we feared that his evening would be over and that he would return to the sidelines.
After an x-ray, Guhle was instead able to get back into the action and it paid off as he followed up with his team’s second goal in the last third.
The empty net goal became another example in the same sense. Solid throughout the evening, Jake Evans achieved this success.
The numerical disadvantage is illustrated
The five-on-five work was convincing for the Habs. This was just as true on the penalty kill as the Oilers were handcuffed in three deployments.
Before the meeting, the Canadian paid tribute to Pierre Houde and his fascination which earned him the honor of the Hall of Fame.
Saturday evening, the next duel promises to be just as tough with the visit of the Golden Knights.
Related News :