Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey Follow @Karinehains
This year is supposed to be about development in Montreal so when the Habs faithful turned up at the Bell Centre last night, they weren’t expecting to see a win, they were expecting to see the start of a new era. In the end, the saw both. Against all odds the Sainte-Flanelle pulled out a last-minute win on a night where a rabid fan base got to say their goodbyes to the face of the franchise for the last 15 years. Prior to the game, Carey Price was introduced to the fans along with the rest of his teammates and the ovation he received felt like a farewell that was enough to give fans goosebumps and the normally even keeled looked moved. Newly minted captain Nick Suzuki then lit up the Bell Centre ice with a torch and a night of entertaining hockey started.
Un mercredi soir mémorable pour nos gars!
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 13, 2022
A memorable Wednesday for these Habs!#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/QFx3YOWjTd
Even though the results matter very little in this rebuilding season, it’s still worth saying that the Canadiens pulled out a 4-3 in extremis win in entertaining fashion. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that if this is the brand of hockey the Habs deliver this season, the fans will be more than happy to cope with the growing pains of a very young blue line. The days of smothering defence and the “Jesus Price please get us into the playoffs… are well and truly over and this team now realises that you need to score goals to win, not just prevent other teams from doing so.
Cole Caufield picked up right where he left off in the preseason, opening his account with 2 goals scored at even-strength, birthday boy Sean Monahan scored what looked to be the game winner in his debut in Bleu, Blanc, Rouge but a Dadonov mistakes meant that Josh Anderson had to score another for the Habs to prevail.
Cole là là . 🥵#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/8AnZv4xtGC
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 13, 2022
Much has been made of the young age of the Canadiens’ blue line and yet, it was veterans’ mistakes that led to the Toronto goals. On the first one, David Savard mishandled the puck off a draw at the blue line of the offensive zone and it eventually lead to the visitors taking the lead. Then, Jake Allen gave a juicy rebound in the slot and Nick Suzuki missed his defensive coverage allowing the Leafs’ forward to get their second and as I’ve said before, their third came curtesy of a Dadonov turnover. Don’t get me wrong, the kids weren’t perfect, but they were definitely alright on the night.
Kaiden Guhle saw over 22 minutes of ice-time in his NHL debut, showing poise on the blue line and the ilk of a true born general on the blue line, even though he committed 4 giveaways. Jordan Harris got the first assist of his career in the big league and looked incredibly confident, finishing his night with a +2 rating and 4 shots on goal in a little less than 20 minutes on the ice. As for Xhekaj he was the less used defenseman and only skated 12:47 minutes but still applied 4 hits and even though he did let the Leafs shifty forwards slip behind him a few times, it was without consequence.
Up front, Juraj Slafkovsky had an honest game. Since he isn’t used on the special teams, he was only on the ice for 10:34 but Martin St-Louis said post game that it wasn’t because of his performance but because of the circumstance. The coach did his mea culpa and said he must find more ice-time for him. Sean Monahan really shone in his Habs’ debut, skating on a line with Dach and Hoffman, he was quick, alert and looked like he did in his glory years in Alberta. A smooth skater he set up his teammates for scoring chances more than once and got a deserved goal in his debut. It was a tougher night for Evgeni Dadonov though and if I was to bet on who’ll get to sit next game if St-Louis wants to give Drouin a chance, my money would be on him.
The Habs will now head to Detroit for the first game of a back-to-back Friday night against the Wings before taking on the Caps in Washington Saturday.