Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Martin St. Louis, Jonathan Drouin, Juraj Slafkovsky, Mike Matheson, Filip Mesar, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Canadiens were on the road for two matches over the weekend. On Friday, the Red Wings snapped a scoreless contest early in the third period, before adding a pair of empty net goals to blank the Canadiens 3-0.
“They played on top of us, and we were not able to take the puck out with possession. I was happy about our third period because we fought, and that’s what you want to see. We had a chance to steal the game because of Jake [Allen],” Martin St. Louis said after the game.
Jake Allen was Montreal’s best player making 38 saves, including 25 in the first period. “We couldn’t match their intensity early and they were on us for the first period and a half. We relied heavily on Jake Allen to stand on his head,” added Nick Suzuki.
On Saturday, the captain opened the scoring in the second period before the Washington Capitals answered back with three goals in 6:18 and head to 3-1 victory.
#Habs Nick Suzuki with wrap around goal vs #Capitals
Assists: Xhekaj, Caufield @AllHabs @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/7JPiUwrWv9
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) October 16, 2022
“I thought the first period was pretty even, I liked it. At the start of the second, we were taking it to them pretty good and then we lost the momentum. In the third, we gave everything we had, hit a post, and we didn’t get that goal that could give us a little jump,” coach said about the loss.
“There’s some things to build off, but there’s still some mistakes. That’s going to happen, it’s game number three. The biggest things for us right now is that we lost two games in a row and the next game becomes much more critical,” Brendan Gallagher added.
Drouin First Opportunity
Jonathan Drouin got his first opportunity on Saturday to kick off his regular season replacing Rem Pitlick. For his first regular season game since Mar. 21st, Drouin was lined up on the fourth line to the left of Jake Evans and Mike Hoffman. Considering that Drouin and Hoffman are known to be offensive minded players, it was disappointing that the trio was not even able to generate one shot on goal.
“I didn’t have my best games during the pre-season. I wasn’t feeling good about my timing and legs. It sucks missing games but I had a good week practising with Martin and the coaching staff,” Drouin said postgame. “I was ready for the game and I think I had a good first game.”
Despite being held off the scoresheet in 15:16 of ice time, the coach was positive about Drouin’s return performance. “I think he played a good game. He was very involved and engaged. He had a lot of pace. When you have pace like that, you touch the puck more. What I liked about Jo is his pace and what he did with his touches.”
St. Louis added that Drouin has been a pro since coming to camp. The forward felt that the coaching staff helped him while being scratched for the first two games. “You have to have a good attitude and continue to work. It’s the only way to get back into the lineup. I just had to put my head down, continue to work and have a good attitude.”
Balancing Ice Time
Since the start of the season, Juraj Slafkovsky has averaged 10:57 of ice time, lowest on the team. St. Louis mentioned before opening night, that he would like to ease in the 18-year old before adding power-play responsibilities.
“I felt he touched the puck more and that’s always a good sign,” St. Louis said in Washington. Slafkovsky has yet to register his first NHL point. “He’s going to understand to use his body to his advantage more than just his skillset that he has, especially at his size. I think for an 18-year old who’s used to having the puck way more probably than he does now, there’s definitely an adaptation period and I think he’s going through that right now.”
At the blue line, the absences of Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson has forced the coaches to use their young defencemen more than anticipated. The situation nearly worsened on Friday after Kaiden Guhle missed time following contact in the corner in Detroit.
When meeting the media before opening night, Kent Hughes said that it would be a concern if Matheson’s absence was longer than ‘short term.’ The following day, Matheson’s absence was announced as eight weeks. The general manager is certainly checking waivers and making phone calls to make additions at the blue line.
Filip Mesar Headed to Kitchener
On Saturday, the Canadiens announced that Filip Mesar was assigned to the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL. The decision was not surprising as Kent Hughes said earlier in the week that he would rather have Mesar get 80 points in the OHL than 40 points in the AHL.
Mesar made his AHL regular season debut on Friday with the Laval Rocket. He finished the contest minus-1 and two shots on goal. “I can play at this level, but I need one year to be better in some details,” Mesar evaluated his performance.
The 18-year old was not happy with one sequence during his debut that led to a goal against. “It was a long shift for me. I should have gotten the puck to the corner. I tried to dangle it,” Mesar said about the sequence.
The Canadiens first round draft pick was used on the wing and at center during the night. “I thought he was okay. He’s gonna make mistakes, he’s 18 years old. He needs to maybe get a little bit stronger, but for the most part he had some good chances, I thought he used his speed and stuff like that,” Jean-Francois Houle said.
Mesar is expected to make his OHL debut on Friday when the Kitchener Rangers host the Sudbury Wolves.
Rocket Opening Weekend
The Laval Rocket kicked off their season with back-to-back games against the Belleville Senators over the weekend. On Friday, Madison Bowey opened the scoring before the Senators answered back with four consecutive goals. Laval made their own comeback and forced overtime, where Belleville came out with the 6-5 victory at Place Bell.
“We showed a lot of character to come from behind. We also had some good chances, we missed the net, a couple of two-on-one’s. In the second period, they only had three chances and they ended up winning that period, but overall I liked our game,” Houle said.
On Saturday, the score was 3-3 with 5:30 remaining before Belleville broke the tie. The Senators added two empty net goals on to win 6-3 at the CAA Arena.
“In the second period, the bounces were going their way but that’s part of the game. I really liked our first period, but once again we took too many penalties,” Houle told BPM Sports. “We were beaten in the small details where they performed and we had defensive breakdowns. It’s frustrating because I don’t think we played a bad game.”
The Rocket host the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday before heading on the road to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday and Bridgeport Islanders on Saturday.
Trois-Rivieres Set to Begin
The Trois-Rivieres Lions kick off their season on Friday as they host the Maine Mariners at the Colisee Videotron. The two teams will then head to Maine for a pair of games at the Cross Insurance Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
In their inaugural season, Trois-Rivieres finished third place in the North Division, before losing against the Newfoundland Growlers in the first round of the playoffs.
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By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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