Hockey

Joe Veleno shows he deserves his place with the Canadiens
Mathis Therrien
Joe Veleno shows he deserves his place with the Canadiens
Credit: Twitter screenshot

The Montreal Canadiens got their revenge last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs , winning 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena.Although it was a completely different line-up (except for Marc Del Gaizo) that faced the Leafs on Thursday in a 7-2 loss, it's a very good thing the Canadiens bounced back.

We were treated to a much better game than Thursday, when all the Habs players had a good game against the Leafs' A team. Welcome to preseason, where this kind of situation is fairly recurrent.

On Thursday, the Leafs' B-team, virtually the Marlies, beat a Habs made up of its first two trios, and last night, a team that looked a lot like the Rocket beat the Leafs' A-team.

In short, it gave us a really good look at the Habs' depth players, those fighting for the positions of 12ᵉ and 13th forwards in Montreal. Several guys stood out, but on offense, if there's one who stood out, it's Joe Veleno.

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The Montrealer may not have gotten a point last night, but he played a damn good game, so Veleno understood the urgency of the situation, when he HAD to have a big game if he hoped to stay in the running for a spot with the Habs.

The Habs' #90 was everywhere on the ice, and he stood out on many levels, as evidenced by his four shots on goal, two body checks and 69% (9 in 13) efficiency in the face-off circle.

It's a mission accomplished for Veleno, because now everyone in Montreal is talking about him, which is a very good sign for the future.

Lane Hutson himself praised Veleno's work, saying he was a great and exciting addition to the team, and that he had a very unique talent.

In short, Veleno's calling card is currently excellent, and he has a very good chance of making the team

But aside from Veleno, what else do I take away from the Habs' 4-2 win over the Leafs?1. Lane Hutson is simply too good. The Habs defenseman was electrifying once again last night, when every time he touched the puck, you wanted to get out of your seat because something was happening. It's amazing how good and dominant Hutson is, no matter what the context.

He got five shots on goal in the game, which is the highest total among Habs players.

In short, we're really lucky to have him in Montreal

2. Oliver Kapanen continues his good work in silence. He'll never be the flashiest player, but I still like Kapanen's game. He makes good decisions, he makes good plays and he's very responsible, while he plays well on 200 feet. He wins important face-offs, and he uses his stick very well to cut plays. In short, nothing revolutionary, but good hockey in general, and that's what could land him a job with the Canadiens.3. Kaapo Kahkonen got the job done. The Finnish goaltender had no choice but to have a good outing last night, if he wanted to stay in the race for Samuel Montembeault's second spot. He'd allowed a bad goal earlier in the week, while Jakub Dobes had been perfect. Well, with yesterday's performance, Kahkonen bought himself another chance to make his mark, and who knows, maybe dislodge Dobes.
4. Samuel Blais is doing his jobwell .The Québécois is doing whatever it takes to secure the 13th forward spot, and the way he's playing, with toughness and intensity, he'll earn it.5. I want to give Alex Belzile some love . We really saw a lot of him last night, when he was really good throughout the game. At 34, he's not going to get a job in Montreal, but still, you have to note how much the guy gives of himself and how much he deserves to play in the NHL.

But he's going to help the young guys in Laval, and he'll be very good for their development. In closing, I liked the play of Owen Beck, Sean Farrell, Alex Carrier, Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj. They all did well.

'Overtime'

– He's simply dominant. The Habs prospect has four goals and two assists in three games.

– Wow.

– C'est clair ça fait très mal.

– Nice win for Montreal CF, against a team that had won its last nine MLS games.

– A fine goal for Koné.

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