Two day later, the Canadiens once more fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs but at least, this time, it was against an NHL line-up. In the end, the Leafs skated away with a 3-0 win that looked pretty much effortless out there. They peppered Keith Kinkaid's net with 49 shots and controlled the play all evening long, moving the puck pretty much as they pleased. to be honest, it really showed the state of the Montreal Canadiens' defence. Of course, not all regulars were there but, it remains that if you are trying to impress and get a roster spot, this was not a good night for most of the d-men out there. Those were the lines deployed by Claude Julien:
La formation projetée du match de ce soir.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 25, 2019
The projected lines for tonight's game.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Kb5iYOkIH5
Even with that type of loss, there were some positives out there:
Keith Kinkaid: 3 goals on 49 shots, I'd say that's a pretty good performance. Especially considering that if replays had been available, the first goal might very well had been waved off. His positioning might not have been perfect but so far, he sure looks like an upgrade on Niemi.
Nick Suzuki: It wasn't a perfect game for him, not by a long shot but he still showed some nice skills, his hockey sense being the main one. Suzuki centred a line with Drouin and Hudon tonight and that might have been a step too far for him. We must remember that this is a young kid and taking on the Leafs' centre line is by no means easy. Brendan Gallagher: He didn't score but he was the best forward with 6 shots on goal, 1 hits and 2 shots. He played nearly 16 minutes and as always provided a great effort. Jesperi Kotkaniemi: He looked better out there, he was moving his legs and providing a lot more effort with 3 shots on goal. This truly was an encouraging sight
Claude Julien said in his post game presser that the decisions would come soon enough as they'd be discussion them on the way back home. If it was up to me, this is what the line-up would look like:
Tatar-Danault-Gallagher Lehkonen-Domi-Suzuki Drouin-Kotkaniemi-Byron Weal-Thompson-Armia Cousin
Mete-Weber Chiarot-Petry Kulak-Fleury Reilly
What about you? Who would stick around and who would be sent down to Laval? Time's running out and the likes of Alzner, Hudon, Weise and co. should soon be going down to the Rocket. With only one preseason game left against Ottawa on Saturday, it's high time that Claude Julien showcases some durable lines...