Phillip Danault’s two faceoffs explain his return to Montreal

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Phillip Danault’s two faceoffs explain his return to Montreal
Credit: Getty Images

Phillip Danault didn't have the greatest game of his career last night in Tampa Bay. In the Habs' 5-4 shootout loss, he was notably less effective on Nick Paul's goal.

He also failed to find the back of the net (for the first time this season) in his 32nd game of the season.

But he was also excellent in the face-off circle. At 72%, it's hard to ask for more… and his agent made a point of pointing this out.

Of all his face-offs, there were two that stood out above the rest.

The first, of course, was when he won the faceoff in offensive territory with seconds left in the game, when the Habs needed a goal. This gave them possession of the puck and dramatically tied the game.

It wasn't Danault who scored the goal, and he won't have an assist on the game. But he did help his team earn a big point on their way to overtime.

And in overtime, who won the opening face-off?

It didn't lead to victory, as we know. But as the Habs gained significant puck possession and buzzed around the opposition zone for many minutes, it prevented the Lightning from having several good chances in overtime.

Danault quickly gave way to Cole Caufield on three-on-three… and I didn't see as much weeping as when Claude Julien did that.

It was for reasons like these that Danault was brought back to Montreal. He takes the place left vacant by the departure of Christian Dvorak.

And without Jake Evans, who will miss the next few weeks, Danault will have a good role.

But that's not all I'm taking away from yesterday's game, where several players managed to make a splash for both good and bad reasons.

For example?

1. The Canadiens are a young team who are really going to have to learn how to play for 60 minutes. Yesterday, in the second half, the club lost its way up North, let's face it.

Especially defensively.

The Habs often struggle in the second period… and yesterday, it cost them the win. They had the Lightning on the ropes after 20 minutes (11 shots to 3 in favor of the visitors after the first), but they let the home team back into the game.

That's something to correct.

2. Fortunately for Martin St-Louis, his side found a way to score several times in the third period. Ivan Demidov, Noah Dobson, and Juraj Slafkovsky (twice) found the back of the net.

So, the best guys stepped up. And that includes Slaf, who is becoming a monster (I mean that in a good way) before our very eyes.

3. Nick Suzuki was not among the first two shooters in the shootout. We don't know if he would have had a chance after Ivan Demidov and Cole Caufield.

But the Habs still lost quickly in the shootout, one of the few times in the game when there wasn't a broken stick.

4. Had the Canadiens managed to score at least once on all four of their powerplays, perhaps they wouldn't have needed overtime to hope for two points.

Further proof that the league's youngest club is still in learning mode.

5. Jacob Fowler didn't have the best of games. However, he was often left to his own devices (especially in the second period), and although he sometimes made a big save, there were times when he didn't make the difference.

Nobody's blaming him for the defeat, but that goal wasn't his best in his career.


extension

At 1 p.m. this afternoon, the boys go to practice in Florida. The goal? To prepare for tomorrow's game, when the Panthers host the Canadiens.

Which goalie will play? Who will be #2? Will Owen Beck and/or Adam Engstrom return to action?

For the moment, these are the only possible changes. The club's five injured players (Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Jake Evans, Kaiden Guhle, and Kirby Dach) are not close to a return.

Dach's setback is worrying…

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