The Canadiens showed Kirill Marchenko just what he missed out on

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The Canadiens showed Kirill Marchenko just what he missed out on
Credit: Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images

Grab your folding chairs and head over to Sainte-Catherine right away: the Canadiens are on their way to glory.

Last night, at Toronto's most popular venue, Martin St. Louis's team pulled off a victory in their season opener.

Beating Toronto always boosts the city's collective morale.

Even though the top two lines (especially Nick Suzuki's) were as quiet as if they were in an actual library, and even though the team got off to a rough start, the players found a way to bounce back.

The depth lines, the defense, and Jakub Dobes stepped up during the game. That made all the difference.

It's largely thanks to them that the Canadiens were able to beat Kirill Marchenko, who was able to play his first game in his new uniform.

Even though Toronto lost 3-2 last night, Marchenko played well. He picked up an assist, was involved in the action… and he showcased the full extent of his talent to the hockey world.

That said, Marchenko also received a very muted ovation from Toronto fans during player introductions and watched the Canadiens win without their top players, which suggests that better things are on the horizon.

Did he realize what he missed out on? That's the question…

But of course, Marchenko wasn't the only story of the game. And the Canadiens can't just focus on that, considering that the Russian slipped through their fingers and that the story is now officially behind us.

So what else can we take away from yesterday's game?

1. Chris Kreider had said he would have liked to play a few more preseason games to shake off the rust a bit more.

We can see why.

Yesterday's game isn't cause for concern since he just arrived, but it's clear he needs to keep working to develop chemistry with NiCole.

At least he's gotten better at doing the friendship circle.

2. Josh Anderson loves to give the Maple Leafs a hard time. And yesterday, aside from his goal, you could tell he was eager to make a difference and help his team win.

His line made the difference.

3. Having an… average training camp isn't ideal. But when the guys are able to bounce back once the season starts, it helps make it easier to swallow.

But in reality, I think above all that the fact that Florian Xhekaj was sitting in the stands and that Oliver Kapanen probably won't be injured forever are factors that pushed Kirby Dach and Zachary Bolduc to rise to the occasion.

4. The defense did its job. Jakub Dobes (we'll discuss him at length later this morning) didn't want to single out any one defenseman in particular (the question was about Alexandre Carrier, who was excellent): he liked everyone.

That's understandable: it was a solid unit.

5. Toronto isn't Montreal. Here, people make noise. They cheer on their players. They certainly don't leave when the game isn't out of reach.

Toronto has a reputation for a reason.

6. If you look at the numbers, you'll see that the Canadiens had only 24 shots on goal (which makes sense when the top six isn't firing on all cylinders) and that the power play was 0-for-2.

But on the bright side, the penalty kill was perfect on three occasions, and the Canadiens won over 60% of their faceoffs. Alex Newhook is at 77.8%, which is extraordinary for a guy trying out at center.


Overtime

After the game, the guys headed to Pittsburgh—even though the next game isn't until Saturday night, three long days from now.

Why? Because a closed-door training camp is clearly on the agenda.

Today, there's a day off from practice on the schedule. But the guys will still be skating on Thursday and Friday in Pennsylvania in preparation for Saturday's game.

In the meantime, let's hope they take advantage of this time to build team chemistry—even though it's the same team (minus Chris Kreider) as last year.

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