On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens ended a road trip in Ottawa. In a road arena packed with Habs fan, the Canadiens played a sloppy one before winning it 6-5 in overtime.
Here’s what caught my eye.
Slafkovsky is rocking now.
Two goals came from the big man’s stick again last night and he scored them just like you would want him to. He is getting pretty reliable on that snipe from the slot on the power play, and that’s how the Canadiens opened the scoring. Slaf was also net-front to connect on the deflection to start the come back in the third.
That’s goals 18 and 19 in Game 49, and we know him to be a player who heats up as a season wears on. His career high is 51 points and he’s already at 40.
Montembeault did not play well, but was better than the other guy.
In fairness to Monty, the Habs were awful for a solid half of this game, and not very good for another quarter. The Senators were playing a weak goalie and Montreal should have swarmed him early and often. Instead, they managed just 16 shots through three periods of play.
Last year this time, the Habs were trying to survive until the 4N break. They came out after that break determined to not have GM Kent Hughes sell at the deadline.
This season needs to be different. Montreal is fighting for a solid playoff spot within the Division, and they can’t afford to be sloppy between now and the Olympic break. They need to be at a level of maturity that demands the GM do whatever is necessary to support them in the next step.
Cole Caufield brought the OT magic… again.
Coming down the right side, didn’t you just know he was going to finish it? Suzuki was read for a pass he kind of knew wasn’t coming.
Do you remember his early days after signing his first contract with the Habs? There were a couple of overtime goals where he and Jeff Petry connected, and it was immediately obvious that there was a new kind of swagger in town.
Caufield scored goals 23 and 24 last night and, like Slafkovsky, is on pace for a career year. It’s kind of bonkers that the American Olympic team saw no need for this level of clutch.
The Canadiens have eight more games before the Olympic break, and none of them are against weak opponents. They will need to find a different level than they brought to this game against the Sens if they want to hold their place in the standings.
Hab At Her 