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In Hainsight: Just Too Strong |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Montreal resisted as long as it could, Cayden Primeau fought bravely but the Rangers were just too strong in the end. The young netminder was lights out, making 16 saves in the first frame alone and 41 throughout the 60 minutes. Thanks to Cole Caufield’s 24th goal of the season, Montreal went back to the locker room leading 1-0 after 20 minutes, but it was the only moment in the game in which they led.
Early in the game, the Habs were keeping pace with the Rangers, but when Juraj Slafkovsky took a tripping penalty in the offensive zone, the floodgates opened. New York only needed 10 seconds on the power play to tie up the game. Then, within seven minutes of the start of the third, the locals ended another couple of goals through Kreider and Panarin.
Montreal did try to come back in the game and Alex Newhook did add a second goal for the Canadiens, but it was all they could muster. Zibanejad then scored his second of the game and Alexis Lafrenière completed the score with an empty netter.
In his postgame press conference, Martin St.Louis summed up his team’s evening with five little words: we were out of gas. The bench boss hardly ever makes excuses for his team, and last night it didn’t feel like it was made up either. After all, the Canadiens were playing their fourth game of the week and their second in as many nights. Furthermore, those last four games were all against top of the standings team and Montreal had to play intense hockey just to keep up with them.
Still, there are some positives to highlight from this tiring week. The first line keeps on producing, some will say it’s easy to score in games that mean nothing, but it’s certainly not easy to score against powerhouses vying for the top seed in the playoffs. Juraj Slafkovsky has been brilliant of late and last night, at one stage, he showed some wonderful skills on the zone entry before passing the puck to Nick Suzuki who then left it behind him for Caufield to shoot. That right there is what happens when you put three skillful players together on the same line. It’s a very refreshing sight for fans in Montreal who were stuck watching defensive hockey for the best part of this century.
In net, Cayden Primeau is showing that he was ready for the role of backup, and it was high time the Canadiens finally managed to move Jake Allen. In years past, the main worry about Primeau was whether he was capable of performing as an NHL player consistently and a month after the trade deadline, the answer is a resounding yes.
Captain Nick Suzuki was held off the scoresheet, but with 74 points in 77 games, no one can say his production isn’t enough. Just imagine how much more he could have produced if Kirby Dach wasn’t injured and the Habs had a great one-two punch up front! The Canadiens now have 5 games left and it’s not out of the realm of realities that Suzuki could reach the 80-point mark.
If the Canadiens were playing a second game in as many nights, Justin Barron was playing for a third day in a row having featured in the Laval Rocket’s on Friday night. The right-shot blueliner seemed eager to show what he could do and bring to the team with his great mobility and offensive instinct. There’s no telling if Barron will be around long-term with all the defensive prospects Kent Hughes has in hand, but he’s making the most of the opportunity he has to showcase his skills.
The Canadiens will now be back in action on Tuesday against Philadelphia, before heading back to New York to take on the Islanders this time and they’ll wrap up the week in Ottawa. After that, they’ll only have a back-to-back series with Detroit left before the end of the season. For the third Spring in a row, there’ll be no Habs postseason hockey and fans will hope that next year, the Canadiens are at least still playing meaningful hockey at this stage of the season.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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