The Canadiens won both games of their doubleheader

Jonathan Di Gregorio
The Canadiens won both games of their doubleheader
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

The Canadiens are finally back. To kick off their preseason schedule, the Habs played not one, but two simultaneous games against the Maple Leafs with a split squad.

The Habs got off to a strong start in the preseason by winning both games. The team in Montreal won 4–3 in overtime, while the squad in Toronto triumphed 4–1.

For the occasion, I took a closer look at the performances of some Habs players during this doubleheader.

The Second Line

For this first preseason game, Martin St-Louis paired Juraj Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov—a line that had enjoyed great success last year.

The three young players quickly found their rhythm, opening the scoring less than five minutes into the game when Slafkovsky deflected Luke Mittelstadt's shot.

Demidov also scored a power-play goal, finishing off a play set up by Lane Hutson.

The second line looks ready to pick up where it left off last season before being broken up.

The Jakobs

Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler split goaltending duties in Montreal.

Dobes, who started the game, made some nice saves but ultimately allowed two goals on nine shots. Both goals were scored on Toronto's power play.

The Czech goaltender had a fairly quiet first period with only two shots on goal, but unfortunately couldn't slow down the Leafs when they stepped on the gas in the second period.

For his part, Fowler, who played the second half of the game, gave up a goal less than two minutes after taking over in net.

However, the American was more solid in the third period and in overtime, stopping all six shots he faced to help the Habs secure the win. Fowler stopped nine of the ten shots he faced.

Samuel Montembeault

After a difficult season, Montembeault remains with the Habs and could very well start the season as the backup goaltender in Montreal.

The goaltender had a strong outing, allowing no goals on 13 shots while playing just over half (31:19 minutes) of the game.

Monty made some nice saves and seemed to have good vision of the puck, in addition to being well-positioned in the net.

It's a small sample size, but he appeared much more in control in front of his net than he did in several games last year.

David Reinbacher

Reinbacher needs to have a strong training camp if he wants to earn a spot on the main team.

The development of the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft has been hampered by numerous injuries since he was selected.

Reinbacher played a solid game and looked much more confident, particularly in his decision-making.

He was on the ice for the Habs' first goal. He finished the game with a +1 rating and dished out three hits in 20:04 of ice time.

Florian Xhekaj

The youngest of the Xhekaj brothers is also trying to secure a spot in Montreal—or at least ensure he's the first player called up in the event of an injury among the Habs' forwards.

The forward, who was Toronto's third-most-used forward with 17:21 of ice time, had a solid game, effectively disrupting the opposition while also recording an assist and delivering four hits.

He also dropped the gloves, engaging in a solid fight with Marshall Rifai.

For his part, Arber Xhekaj logged 21:31 minutes of ice time and made his presence felt against the opposition with eight hits, but he finished the game with a -1 plus/minus rating.


Overtime

Both Habs lines played well overall—especially for preseason games—but the Montreal team clearly let up in the second period.

However, it's normal in a preseason game for players to ease up when they have a two-goal lead.

Lane Hutson picked up where he left off, recording a goal and an assist, while finishing the game with a +1 plus/minus rating.

The Canadiens' newcomer, Chris Kreider, was fairly quiet in this game, finishing with zero points, one shot, and one check.

The Canadiens' next game will take place on Monday against the Senators at the Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières as part of the Kraft Hockeyville event.

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