10 Thoughts: At Least the Power Play Looked Good
The Habs kicked off the middle portion of their preseason schedule on Thursday as they hosted Toronto. It was a game they’ll want to forget in a hurry as the Maple Leafs took it 7-2 despite having the weaker roster.
As is normal at this time of the preseason, a good chunk of the lineup from Tuesday’s victory over Philadelphia was changed; only seven players who suited up against the Flyers played in this game. The team lined up as follows:
Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Laine – Dach – Demidov
Roy – Mesar – Rohrer
Tuch – F. Xhekaj – Davidson
Matheson – Dobson
Del Gaizo – Reinbacher
O’Rourke – Clurman
10 Thoughts
1) Considering the Habs had their top two lines in the lineup against Toronto’s ‘B’ group, I was hoping to see some offensive zone time, similar to how Nick Suzuki’s line fared on Tuesday. Instead, Montreal’s entire group came out listless and largely stayed that way. Yes, it’s preseason, but it still wasn’t ideal.
2) Samuel Montembeault had an opening period to forget. Scott Laughton’s first goal saw the netminder fail to cut down the angle. (And yes, Ryan O’Rourke made a bad pinch to lead to the play.) His second goal could have been played better by Noah Dobson with Mike Matheson trailing the play but it was straight through the wickets, another stoppable goal. Then, late in the period on a delayed penalty, he was caught looking the wrong way on a screened shot. Some of those fundamental miscues is simply part of working off the rust but three goals on the first five shots wasn’t the start he was looking for.
3) It was nice to see Montreal’s power play get a goal, especially after last preseason’s 0-fer. Mike Matheson faked his shot, pulled Laughton out of the lane to block the shot, then fired one far-side past Dennis Hildeby. He might not get much time with the man advantage this season when everyone’s healthy so this is a good way to state his case not to forget about him.
4) I’m a fan of the power play moving around a lot, trying to create some chaos. But Ivan Demidov’s slowing of the play to wait for the precise pass to present itself is an interesting wrinkle. I liked the quick give-and-go with Filip Mesar that allowed Demidov to reset and with Mesar moving to the front to draw attention, that freed up Patrik Laine from near his usual spot. That’s a play that has a chance to be repeatable although it goes against the idea of more of a motion offence.
5) Unfortunately, it took almost the rest of the second period to get another shot which is a sign of how things went in this one. Meanwhile, Toronto’s fourth line that was their front line in this one continued its hot night with a pair of goals from Steven Lorentz, a redirect late on the power play and a redirect a couple of minutes later when he out-muscled Demidov for position. Call that one a learning experience.
6) Marc Del Gaizo wasn’t supposed to play in this one; it was supposed to be Kaiden Guhle on the second pairing before he was sidelined due to injury. But he had another decent outing which will help his case. He quietly spent more time in the NHL than the AHL last season (with Nashville) and would make sense as a seventh defenceman should there be an injury (or, less likely, a trade) before the regular season starts. He’s going to see some action with the Habs this season.
7) Vinzenz Rohrer didn’t play that well in the rookie games but he’s slowly getting better with each outing. He didn’t play a ton in this one but did take a regular turn shorthanded and held his own while his speed makes him a threat. I wrote last year that he had a shot to be this year’s Oliver Kapanen and break camp with a spot. I’m not sure that he has done enough to do that yet but he’s earned another chance to make his case.
8) Jacob Fowler was in net for the third period and, well, let’s just say he didn’t fare much better than Montembeault. Matt Benning beat him with a point shot that wasn’t blistering by any measure and while Ryan Tverberg made a great individual effort on the seventh goal (notwithstanding some poor defensive coverage), Fowler didn’t even make it out of his crease to cut down the angle; he was caught flat-footed.
9) On Tuesday, Xhekaj’s line made an impact against the Flyers. With similar usage in this one, they couldn’t get much going. Jared Davidson might have been the best of the three but that’s not saying much. I’m hoping this cools off the talk of Xhekaj breaking camp with the Habs. He should get a look at some point this season but he still has a lot of development to do.
10) To end on a worse note, Noah Dobson didn’t play in the third and David Reinbacher didn’t make it through the final frame. Here’s hoping those injuries aren’t too severe. Dobson (and Guhle) are listed as day-to-day with groin injuries while Reinbacher was still being evaluated after the game.
HW Habs 3 Stars
1st Star: Mike Matheson – He had Montreal’s first marker with that strong shot on the power play and at five-on-five, he was probably their best defender although that’s not saying a whole lot. I think he played a bit too much overall but, to be fair, the third period absences kind of forced Martin St. Louis’ hand on that one.
Stats: 1 goal, -2 rating, 3 shots, 1 block, 24:48 TOI
2nd Star: Nick Suzuki – The best way to describe his game was steady. There wasn’t a lot of pop on that top line but he was the most consistent of the group while showing some poise on the power play and even getting some shorthanded work in. A decent outing, but nothing flashy.
Stats: 1 assist, even rating, 1 block, 9/17 faceoffs, 19:15 TOI
3rd Star: Kirby Dach – Was he Montreal’s third-best player in this one? Probably not. But considering this was his first game since February, he did okay. His skating was good (probably my biggest concern) and he did alright on the penalty kill. I’m not sure that he’s the right fit with Laine and Demidov but this was an alright return to the lineup.
Stats: 0 points, -3 rating, 1 shot, 7/15 faceoffs, 18:20 TOI