On Thursday night the Montreal Canadiens were in Buffalo to face the red hot Sabres. The result was a 5-3 loss.
I took some quick notes.
The Suzuki line got Marty’s memo.
Following the Texier contract extension, Marty was asked about the Suzuki line and he said they needed to get inside more. Both Caufield and Suzuki scored in close last night, and Texier had a disallowed goal on a play where he drove the net.
I’m not sure Texier is the long term solution on the Suzuki line, but he’s not bad there. Marty is right – without Slafkovsky’s big body creating space, they need to drive the net themselves more.
Zachary Bolduc is not a great fit on the third line.
His advocates will say he has not had enough consistency on any line to find a fit. But that’s the way it often is with young players, no? They have to earn their time. So far, I’ve only seen glimpses of what I think Bolduc can do.
When he arrived in Montreal, I remember a quote from him about learning that his success in the NHL is connected to him bringing a level of physicality every game. I was looking forward to that – it’s definitely a feature that is needed in Montreal. But we have not actually seen that play out.
In the meanwhile, Phil Danault is still good, but he’s not the player that left Montreal. Gallagher and Anderson are not the players he left behind either. Each of them has a lot of miles on them.
The coach is looking for a mix on that third line that should be forechecking the other team into madness. Bolduc’s young legs and his alleged physicality could be part of that, helping the vets do what they have done their whole careers. But so far that has not been the case. I’m not sure he’s a guy you keep in Montreal as the injured return unless he can step it up.
That wasn’t Fowler’s strongest start.
The kid didn’t play poorly, but it seemed to me the Sabres were targeting him high on his blocker side and finding success there. Was that a scouting report or a coincidence?
I suspect the three-headed beast in net is coming to an end soon. With the schedule taking a breather leading up to the Olympics, I think we’ll see movement soon. More developmental time in Laval for Fowler wouldn’t be the worst call.
Hab At Her 