Casey DeSmith has the upper hand on his former team

This Sunday, the Montreal Canadiens faced the Vancouver Canucks, who are on fire this season.

With a record of 10-3-1, their star player Elias Pettersson is playing the best hockey of his career.

In 14 games, the Swede has collected no less than 25 points, including 18 assists.

Defender Quinn Hughes is also having an excellent start to the season.

He led the defenders in points (22) and assists (17) before the duel against the Habs.

Brock Boeser was tied for the second rank in league scorers before the Vancouver vs. Montreal game with 11 goals.

Here is the lineup that the Canadiens presented to face off against the mighty Canucks.

Tonight’s lineup

This evening’s lineup#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/xnM1g7qTgL

— Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) November 13, 2023

Joel Armia was sent down to the Laval Rocket earlier today, making room for Gustav Lindström to be recalled by the big club.

However, Lindström is not participating in the game.

Casey DeSmith was facing his “former” team, as he squared off against Jake Allen in net.

The first period was rather tight, as neither team was able to score.

The Habs had a 9-8 advantage in the shot department.

Not much happened in the first twenty minutes, but in the second period, the Canucks’ engine really got fired up, and it wasn’t pretty to watch.

Three unanswered goals by the Nucks, including one at the end of the period that broke the momentum the Canadiens had built in the first.

Conor Garland scored the opening goal for his team.

Ilya Mikheyev doubled the lead for his side, before his teammate, Dakota Joshua, added a third unchecked goal.

In the meantime, Christian Dvorak thought he had tied the game 1-1 in the second period, but unfortunately, the goal was disallowed because Cole Caufield was offside on the play.

This is the third disallowed goal for the Habs this season, because of Caufield being offside.

It’s unfortunate that it happened to Caufield every time.

But it is important to consider that natural scorers like CC22 often cheat a little to give themselves as many chances as possible to score.

It’s the risk of being a sniper.

Vancouver dominated in shots during the second period with a lead of 14-8.

As for the third period, it was a bit quieter than the previous one.

A little over five minutes into the final period, the Canadiens benefited from a 5 on 3 power play.

Mike Matheson did not intend to miss such an opportunity, as he pounced on a rebound from the high slot.

This power play goal marked the 12th game of the season where the Canadiens scored during a man advantage.

The power play of the Habs seems to finally be becoming more and more dangerous.

Brock Boeser scored his 12th goal of the season into an empty net, taking sole possession of second place in the League.

The score is now 4-1, but Arber Xhekaj surprised everyone late in the game with a powerful shot, which bounced out of the net as soon as it went in.

Arber Xhekaj takes matters into his own hands and beats DeSmith with a clean shot. #GoHabsGo

Nice zone entry. pic.twitter.com/cn2xWHagiw

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) November 13, 2023

The final score is 5-2, as Phillip Di Giuseppe also scored a goal into an empty net.

All in all, the Canadiens defended very well against the top offense in the NHL.

Casey DeSmith and Jake Allen both put on very nice performances with key saves. They each stopped at least 30 shots.

The next game for the Montreal Canadiens will take place next Tuesday, November 14, where Martin St. Louis’s team will host the Calgary Flames at Bell Centre.

Overtime

– Defenseman Filip Hronek earned an assist in a tenth consecutive game. He still hasn’t scored a goal, but he’s making a mark with 16 assists this year, including 13 in his last 10 games. Quinn Hughes meanwhile, earned his 18th assist of the season, tying him with his teammate, Elias Pettersson. Clearly, Vancouver’s offense is present in 2023-2024 and is causing concern for many teams across the NHL.