I want what Alexandre Carrier put in his cereal yesterday morning

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
I want what Alexandre Carrier put in his cereal yesterday morning
Credit: Getty Images

Last night, the Canadiens won 6-3 against the Vancouver Canucks.

Was it a perfect game? No. But at the right moments, Martin St-Louis's men rose to the occasion and came away with the win.

The Canucks, in their first “official” game since the announcement of their rebuilding process, lost. The end of the season is likely to be painful there.

If the Habs got things going, it was mainly thanks to their first two trios and their first two defensive pairs. The Habs' best players were the best, and that made all the difference.

The Canadiens' defensemen scored four goals, but Lane Hutson had none. If he had been able to practice on Sunday, he would have scored…

Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson scored a goal apiece, but what really stands out is that for 20 seconds, Alexandre Carrier thought he was the Québécois Wayne Gretzky.

His two goals were surprising, to be sure. But the Habs won't complain.

I don't know what Carrier put in his cereal yesterday morning, but I want some. After all, it looks like he's in for a good day's work.

Carrier, in addition to his goals, continued to play well alongside Lane Hutson. An evening like yesterday reminds us why he's still alongside #48 despite Kaiden Guhle's return to health.

Speaking of the young defender, who has just returned from a major injury, he didn't have the night of his life with Arber Xhekaj. In fact, the Sheriff didn't even play 15 minutes and sometimes skipped his turn in the third.

Even though he's been gaining confidence recently, it's always the same story: Xhekaj's slightest mistake is the talk of the town, and forces us to wonder whether Jayden Struble will take his place tonight . Everything has to start again.

But it wasn't just the defensive corps that got people talking in this match. Several other players caught the eye, for good or bad reasons.

For example?

1. Seeing Lane Hutson not play on the first wave of the powerplay was a surprise. But to see him happy for Noah Dobson, who scored, is no surprise.

The team culture is great. The guys know they'll be playing together for years to come (their contracts prove it), and the important thing is to win.

2. Jakub Dobes didn't have the game of his life. He must have been nervous, considering the circumstances, and let's just say he wasn't always well placed in front of his net either.

He gave up three goals on 23 shots… but in the end, he came away with a win.

3. The young line continued to stand out. It was mainly Oliver Kapanen's line (who scored again) that helped the Habs win yesterday's game.

His wingers collected three points each, including a goal for Juraj Slafkovsky.

Not surprisingly, Kapanen leads the rookies in goals (16), while Ivan Demidov, with 39 points, tops the scoring charts among first-year players.

It's a good feeling, isn't it?

4. The Canadiens' first line has also found a way to produce. Alexandre Texier (two assists), Nick Suzuki (two assists) and Cole Caufield (one assist) all got on the scoresheet, even if they didn't score.

They had assists on defenders' goals.

5. Phillip Danault had a more difficult evening in the face-off circle, as he is rarely below 50%. Yesterday, the Québécois was at 46.2%.

In general, the Habs' depth pulled out all the stops yesterday. But a good club has offensive trios that can compensate, as is now the case with the Habs.

6. There's clearly an established top-3 in the Canadiens' division. The Red Wings and Lightning are, along with the Habs, the best teams so far this season.

The Maple Leafs are five points behind the Canadiens this morning.

(Credit: NHL.com)


overtime

Martin St-Louis' men headed for Washington after yesterday's game. They joined Samuel Montembeault, who had already been in the U.S. for hours.

The advantage of a ménage à trois is that it allows the goalie, who will be playing his second game in two days in two different cities, to avoid overnight travel and be more refreshed.

A good night's sleep is always good for you.

There will be no early morning practice and the coach will speak to the media at 11:30 this morning. He should confirm that Monty will play and that there will be no change to the forward line.

I say that because the club hasn't announced a recall and because we don't expect to see Josh Anderson or another injured player back in action as early as tonight.

But on defense, will there be a change? We'll see.

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