The Montreal Canadiens opened their season on the road vs the Toronto Maple Leafs last night with a 5-2 loss. I thought the Habs played a fairly good game last night and were often dangerous on the PK. Also, I found the PP had some good moments and they moved the puck well. Here is a breakdown of the good and bad of last nights game:
Hutson: Although he was out there for the GWG on a weird play with a broken sticjk and a lost one, I found he played well. He can really skate and protect the puck, wow. He's looking rerally food out there and I don't think the sophmore slump is going to be an issue. Hutson is just on another level.
Dobson: He logged the most ice time at 23 minutes and had a solid game. He showed his great mobility and vision all game long. The Matheson Dobson pairing had a great game.
Demidov: Love it. He's not afraid to hold on to the puck and cut to the net even though there is a lot of traffic in front of him. He needs a true second line centre.
Kapanen: He showed last night why he's on this team. He can play in any situation and scored his first NHL goal on the PK. I don't see how you take him out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, so barring injury, how does Veleno get a game in?
The first line: I thought the line of Caufield, Suzuki and Slaf had a strong game. They were moving the puck well and created a lot of offence. I espcially liked Suzuki's game. He's the true #1 center we've been looking for.
Bolduc: He had a really goods game and was rewarded with his first goal as a Hab. Happy for him!
Kirby Dach: He did not really stand out and played 12 minutes the least of all the forawrds and only Xhekaj had less overall. I don't want to harp on him too much, but he needs to get going. I know he had an assist but he's not noticebale out there for such a big guy.
Rebounds: Overall, the goaltending was good, but there were a couple of wild rebounds out there.
With two empty net goals, the game was closer than what the final score showed. Not a bad game at all, but they don't have time to linger on the loss. The Habs take on Detroit tonight on the road at 7pm! I would love to see Dobeš get a game here.