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In Hainsight: Short and Sweet

November 26, 2022, 2:28 AM ET [241 Comments]
Karine Hains
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey

After playing an inspired game and holding the fort in Columbus, Samuel Montembeault was rewarded with a second straight start and the coach didn’t have to regret his decision. The Bécancour native had another solid effort in store allowing only 2 goals on 32 shots for a save percentage of .938. In the shootout, he stopped Patrick Kane to give the Habs a chance to win and they didn’t miss it thanks to the “Nicoldach” line (see what I did there?)

After the Hawks tied things up late in the game and the Canadiens survived a penalty kill in overtime, the head coach knew just who to send out for the shootout. First, he gave the nod to his proven sniper Caufield, then he sent his captain and Datsyuk’s disciple Suzuki before telling Kirby Dach to go finish off the team who gave up on him. All 3 scored, but it was Dach who celebrated the most, clearly proud of sealing the deal and putting his glove to his hear as if to say: “What were you saying Chicago?” It was a thing of beauty!



The execution in game was far from perfect though and had it not been for Montembeault, the Habs could very well have lost this one, but thankfully, the goalie is part of the team, and they are allowed to change the outcome of a game. Not that anybody in Montreal needs to be told this after years of riding on Carey Price’s coattails. It was also a very good outing for Sean Monahan who got helpers on both Habs goals scored in regulation, setting up Joel Edmunson perfectly for a deflection and Nick Suzuki for a power play goal from his office. Josh Anderson had a couple of very nice chances, but he was robbed by Arvid Soderblom’s glove hand both times.



The Canadiens now head back to Montreal after a short two-game road trip in which they had a perfect record, that’s 4 more points in the bank. Having now played over a quarter of the season, the Habs are still exceeding expectations and those who wanted them to tank hard for Bedard would do well to find another motivation because that scenario is becoming increasingly unlikely. The Habs are now off until Tuesday night when they’ll take on the Sharks at the Bell Centre and until then, I’ll be off too, unless something big happens, like a trade. Enjoy your Habs free weekend everyone and if you need a sports fix, I urge you to give football a try, this World Cup has given us a few cracking games so far!
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