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When Patrik Laine uses his shot and vision, he is able to help the Canadiens
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
When Patrik Laine uses his shot and vision, he is able to help the Canadiens
Credit: Getty Images
What was that game all about?

The Canadiens were in Seattle last night… and the game was weird. You could feel it from the start of the game, when Jakub Dobes came out of his net and that led to the Kraken’s first goal.

By the way, what a bad first period. The guys clearly had a lack of energy at the end of the trip.

Then, in the second, the Canadiens got up. They took advantage of some bad plays by the Kraken, a team that’s not exactly built to spark passion in fans, to take control of the game.

They also took advantage of the refereeing – you read that right – in some ways. #JurajSlafkovskyGoal

But the icing on the cake was the lead that slipped away at the end of the game, leading to the most one-sided overtime in a long time. The Canadiens players got caught like school kids with the “no guy at the blue line” formula at the start of overtime.

The Kraken crossed the red line (via Brandon Montour) before the face-off… Christian Dvorak won the face-off and left it free behind him… the Kraken surprised the Canadiens, who looked like school kids. Everything was weird.

 

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It was a hard game to follow when looking at the overall lines of the game. There wasn’t really a common thread.

But conclusion #1 to draw from all this, the Canadiens left a point on the table in the playoff race. The team therefore played for .500 (1-1-2) on the western trip and is currently one point away from the playoffs.

(Credit: NHL.com)
But what were the factors of the defeat? What made the Canadiens not have as many points as the Columbus Blue Jackets in the standings this morning?

There are several elements to note.

1. Jakub Dobes allowed the Canadiens to stay a little in the game at the beginning, but he wasn’t perfect at the end of the game. In the end, he wasn’t the determining factor the Canadiens needed.

At least, he brought the team to overtime.

2. Juraj Slafkovsky is another thorn in the second half of the season and last night, he allowed the Canadiens to believe. Again, he found a way to get two points (two goals) in important moments for the team.

His first goal was created on a beautiful play… and he can thank the refereeing for his second. Look at the guy: he didn’t even believe he had just collected his 100th point in the NHL.

3. If the Canadiens were in the game, it’s thanks to Patrik Laine. He scored exactly as you can imagine and he also used his vision to feed Alex Newhook.

This Patrik Laine, who is supposedly coming back from the flu, is useful and necessary. Without him, the game wouldn’t have gone to overtime. And that, even if he wasn’t too visible elsewhere in the game.

4. A little earlier this week, Drew Helleson (Ducks) scored his 10th point of the season. He is in second place among rookie defensemen in the NHL.

And since last night, he is 41 points behind Lane Hutson.

Hutson scored his 50th and 51st points of the season, making him the first NHL rookie to reach 50 points this season. Right now, Macklin Celebrini is at 48.

Among active NHL defensemen, only Quinn Hughes had a better rookie season than Lane Hutson with 53 points. Expect to see the Canadiens’ defenseman break his mark.

5. In the first period, the Canadiens didn’t have it at all. It was Patrik Laine who broke the ice for the Canadiens, but it was on a pass from the captain. Yes, it’s still him that it’s going through, the attack. He’s often the one who gives the guys a rhythm.

Yesterday, Nick Suzuki (who got two assists) brought his record to 69 points in 65 games. He is one assist away from his first 50-assist season in his career.

6. The refereeing missed the call on Slaf’s goal, but they also missed the call on the #20 of the Canadiens in the sequence involving the hit on Jakub Dobes.

How did Eeli Tolvanen and Slaf not get penalized for that?

7. The Canadiens lost in part because Brandon Montour looks like Jeff Skinner when he faces the Canadiens. In October, he scored three goals and got an assist.

And yesterday? Two goals, including in overtime, and two assists.

8. Not to mention, when Joel Armia is not there, it shows. In a game like that, having Armia instead of Michael Pezzetta would have helped. Pezz is invisible on the ice.

Let’s see if Armia’s absence will be long.


overtime

For the Canadiens, it’s a travel day. There is no practice scheduled and we can’t wait to see if Martin St-Louis will let his guys rest a bit tomorrow.

In any case, they will have to be ready for the Panthers on Saturday night. It’s a game the team can’t afford to lose.

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