The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. It was a night of nostalgia as the Avs wore Nordiques Blue to face the red-donning Habs. The result was a shocking 7-3 win for the home team.
Here are my quick notes from the game.
The Habs really wanted this win.
That’s a lovely sentiment. But why the heck did they not seem to have the same drive against division rivals in recent days? That’s what is maddening about this group. On any given night, they can compete with any team in the league, including the best team in the league. They are equally capable of sucking against lesser opponents.
The captain led the way.
It’s been said many times that Suzuki doesn’t look quite like himself this season, and we have heard him acknowledge publicly that he has played through some injuries. Despite this, the Iron Man still leads the team with 62 points in 54 games. That was a beautiful lob clear from Kapanen that sprung Suzuki for the shorty.
Zach Bolduc has found chemistry.
After a strong start to the season, Bolduc has struggled since. He’s bounced from line to line seemingly unable to find chemistry anywhere. With players returning from injury, there were serious conversations about whether he should be sent to Laval to find his game. Then Dach returned from injury and was eventually reunited with Bolduc. This duo has chemistry and I’m loving their line with Evans.
Jake Evans picked a fine time to find his game.
Evans is another player who struggled to start the year before being injured. In the last few games, he’s looked fantastic between Bolduc and Dach. Three guys finding their game together. This line makes sense and could stick. What a forecheck by Evans to steal the puck for the wraparound!
That was the best D construction we’ve seen all season.
It didn’t take long to see what Hutson and Dobson would look like together. That was a nice set play off the draw that was perfectly executed. They’re an obvious top pair together if Matheson and Guhle can work as a shutdown second pair. Carrier has been strong of late, and I thought Xhekaj was excellent last night. If these pairs can stick, and IF Guhle can stay healthy, this can be a strong D group.
Jakub Dobes was solid when he needed to be.
He probably should have had one of those goals, but on balance he was solid in his second straight start (and win). After firing Eric Raymond this week and promoting Marco Marciano to be the goalie coach in Montreal, they are obviously hoping the net stabilizes and a move won’t be necessary while they wait for Fowler to assume the starter’s role.
The Habs head out for a three-game road trip leading into the Olympic break. They need to keep the wins coming in a tight Eastern conference.
Hab At Her 