Hockey

The Habs end its weekend with three points out of a possible four
Raphael Simard
The Habs end its weekend with three points out of a possible four
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

After the Rangers yesterday, the Canadiens played a second game in two nights, this time against the Oilers.

After two consecutive starts by Jacob Fowler, Jakub Dobes was back in net.

Here are the lineups:

No goals were scored in the first period, but Montreal was perfect on the power play (3/3).

Early in the game, the Oilers had a two-man, two-minute power play, but Dobes was solid.

This gave the home team momentum. What a sequence from the quartet.

Brendan Gallagher thought he had scored, but his net was quickly denied by the official.

He redirected the puck into the net with his skate on a power play.

In the second period, the Habs returned to the powerplay.

This time, Calvin Pickard was beaten. What a shot from Ivan Demidov!

Then Connor McDavid proved he's human.

He gave a nice Christmas present to Joe Veleno, who couldn't have asked for more.

Unlike the Oilers, Montreal was much more opportunistic with the man advantage.

For a second time tonight, Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson had the assists on their teammates' 5-on-4 goals.

This time, it was Nick Suzuki who took advantage.

Edmonton closed the gap, but Alexandre Texier restored his team's three-goal lead.

He really saved his career in the metropolis.

Final score: 4-1 Montreal.

Montreal returns to action Tuesday night against the Flyers at the Bell Centre. The question now: which goalie will be in net? Back to Dobes, who stopped 27 of 28 shots tonight? Samuel Montembeault, who won't have played in a week on Tuesday? Or two-game NHL veteran Jacob Fowler, who was superb in Pittsburgh, but had it a little tougher in New York?

To be seen.


Extension

– Late in the game, Mike Matheson played 4:48 in a row to preserve the lead. What a warrior!

– Still. He got another assist later, so he's now at 59.

– He played a strong game.

– He plays good hockey, yes.

– Montreal missed some breakaways…

– More fear than harm.

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