Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jordan Harris, Carey Price, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Montreal Canadiens were at Rogers Place on Saturday to face the Edmonton Oilers. Nick Suzuki opened the scoring with 3:23 remaining in the first period before things went downhill for the Canadiens.
From the final minute of the first period to the 8:55 mark of the second period, Montreal collected 23 penalty minutes. Edmonton capitalized with three power play goals, including twice with a two-man advantage.
The Canadiens fought back to tie the score with goals from Evgenii Dadonov and Arber Xhekaj. With five seconds remaining in the middle frame, Jonathan Kovacevic lost his footing on a routine play and that led to the Oilers taking possession of the puck and lighting the red lamp. Edmonton added a goal in the third and went on to 5-3 victory.
Goals at the beginning and end of the periods tend to take momentum away from the team allowing it. “We had so much momentum. I think guys thought it was icing. It’s tough to give up those goals at the end of the period, especially with the kind of push that we had in the second half of that period. It was a tough one,” Martin St. Louis said after the game.
Despite the team’s indiscipline, the coach was happy with the overall performance. “I feel really good because our 5-on-5 game was excellent, and I know that we’re going to get some power plays. Our power play was good tonight and I never felt like we were out of it, especially with our first period. We started the second and we don’t get really to play because we have to kill all these penalties.”
Western Trip Continues
The Canadiens continue their trip out west with a duel against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
It will be the second time that Montreal faces Vancouver, with the Canadiens collecting the two points in the standings on November 9th with a 5-2 victory. The Canadiens have yet to face the Kraken this season.
There are several hot topics when it comes to roster decisions for St. Louis. Up front, will Juraj Slafkovsky remain on the second line? The 18-year old was slotted to the left of Sean Monahan and Josh Anderson in the game versus the Calgary Flames and it led to a goal on his first shift.
On defence, how long will the rotation last? After having a great start to the season, Jordan Harris’ playing time has significantly reduced since Mike Matheson returned from injury. The 22-year old has been scratched four times in the last seven games.
Price Showing Support
On Saturday, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price posted on Instagram his support for the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR). The CCFR is a volunteer organization that aims to maintain, protect and promote private firearm ownership.
On his post, Price wore camouflage clothing holding a firearm. “I love my family, I love my country and I care for my neighbour. I am not a criminal or a threat to society. What Justin Trudeau is trying to do is unjust. I support the CCFR to keep my hunting tools. Thank you for listening to my opinion.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and the CCFR thanked the goalie on their respective social media accounts for voicing his opinion on the controversial proposed amendment Bill C-21.
Rocket Swept
The Laval Rocket flew to British Columbia for a double header against the Abbotsford Canucks. For the occasion, the captain Alex Belzile returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an injury. Defenceman Justin Barron missed the first match with a lower body injury.
Saturday’s game was a wild contest that featured 12 goals, 62 penalty minutes and 14 power plays. Unfortunately for Laval, they were on the losing end of the 7-5 match. Jan Mysak did not finish the game after suffering an injury during the first period.
“It was a weird game. There was a lot of special units, so we had to turn the bench upside down a little bit. We had good scoring chances and could have tied it at the end of the game. Once again, we need to play better defensively if we want to win games,” coach Jean-Francois Houle said.
On Sunday Kent Hughes and assistant general manager John Sedgwick were in attendance in Abbotsford. Laval was down by one goal through 40 minutes before Abbotsford added two goals to their lead and headed to 6-3 win.
“It’s the same story. We were trailing again and it takes a lot of energy to try to get back into the game. We came back into the game but it was too late,” Houle said.
The Rocket have struggled to get the lead in matches. Through 23 games, Laval has had the lead only twice after the first period. “When the opponent is leading, they sit on it. That’s why lately we’ve been outshooting our opponents, because we’re trailing,” added Houle.
Laval returns for home for three games starting on Friday when hosting the Belleville Senators.
(Quotes courtesy of BPM Sports)
Lions Success at Home
The Trois-Rivieres Lions began a three-game homestand on the weekend by hosting the Iowa Heartlanders twice.
On Friday, the Lions took a 3-0 lead through 20 minutes and never looked back in their way to 4-2 victory.
“I don’t think we played at our best. We cheated on offense. We can play better. The positive is that if you win without playing your best, you have a good team,” interim coach Marc-Andre Bergeron said.
There was a scary incident during the game when Lions defenceman Santino Centorame was hit into the boards by James Sanchez. Centorame laid on the ice for several minutes before being stretchered off. The defenceman did not require a trip to the hospital.
#Lions3R Santino Centorame leaving the ice on a stretcher following this hit. #ECHL pic.twitter.com/q83YrnSbx0
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) December 3, 2022
On Saturday, the Lions had to overcome three leads against the Heartlanders and force overtime. It took 60 seconds into the extra frame before Anthony Beauregard netted the game winning goal to give Trois-Rivieres the 5-4 victory. The win extended the Lions home winning streak to five games.
#Lions3R Anthony Beauregard picks up loose puck for OT goal vs #Heartlanders
Assists: Francis #ECHL pic.twitter.com/T14ribrOqz
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) December 4, 2022
“It’s satisfying. It shows that we are acquiring good habits. It is certain that when you make a comeback, it shows character,” noted Bergeron.
“I think we had the momentum, but we gave them a few goals that we shouldn’t have given up. We showed character. The important thing is that we won. A perfect weekend like that does a lot of good.”
On Sunday, the Belleville Senators signed Lions defenceman Alex Breton to a professional tryout contract. In 18 games with Trois-Rivieres, Breton has scored two goals and 12 points while averaging 21 minutes of ice time.
#Lions3R defenceman Alex Breton signed a professional tryout contract with the Belleville Senators. In 18 games, Breton collected 12 points.
Here are his two goals with Trois-Rivieres
⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4P5gw1huI7
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) December 4, 2022
Trois-Rivieres hosts the Worcester Railers on Wednesday before heading to Maine for a pair of games against the Mariners starting on Friday.
(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)
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