Montreal Canadiens continue to carry three goaltenders on the roster. When will the situation be resolved?

GAME RECAP | New Jersey Devils vs Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards

22 Cole Caufield  14 Nick Suzuki  17 Josh Anderson 
49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard  15 Alex Newhook  20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson  91 Sean Monahan  11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta  71 Jake Evans  56 Jesse Ylonen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson 52 Justin Barron
54 Jordan Harris 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
72 Arber Xhekaj  27 Gustav Lindstrom

Goaltenders

Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau 
Alternate: 35  Sam Montembeault

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Joel Armia, Jake Allen

Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body), Kirby Dach (lower body), Kaiden Guhle (upper body), David Savard (hand)

Game Report

The Montreal Canadiens went into the season with three goaltenders on the roster. That left room for just 13 forwards and seven defenseman. With a home-heavy schedule in October, injury replacements were just 30 minutes away in Laval. 

But with a Pacific division road trip on the horizon, one wonders if Kent Hughes would prefer to have a more traditional complement of players along? Is it time to make a decision on Cayden Primeau?

The schedule-makers were kind to the Canadiens with four games on the docket this week. It was a perfect opportunity to showcase Primeau. In the event of an outstanding performance, Hughes could reassure would-be buyers. In the event of a dud, potential waiver claims could be discouraged.

Unfortunately, neither event occurred. Primeau played, well, like Cayden Primeau. He did nothing to prove that he is an NHL goaltender, but was good enough to tease about his fading potential. 

Primeau made a circus save on Ondrej Palat in the first period, throwing himself at the puck in desperation. But he still has difficulty controlling his lateral movements. On more than one occasion he lost the net; positioning and puck tracking continues to be an issue.

But the question remains, if this was a showcase opportunity for Primeau, why start him against New Jersey? And why on a night when 32 teams were in action, resulting in few scouts in the building. Perhaps it was simply to give Cayden a start before squeezing him through waivers ahead of the road trip.

The score flattered the Canadiens. The Devils, who have started this season slowly, took some time to shake the cobwebs. Former Canadien Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick while Jack Hughes tallied four assists. Hughes set an NHL record for the most points (14) in the first five games of the season.

Mike Matheson made up for a tough night in his own zone with a spectacular Bobby Orr-esque goal with the Canadiens playing six-on-five. Matheson co-led the team in giveaways, along with Nick Suzuki.

Josh Anderson was rotated back to the top line not because he's a good fit with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield but because he's the lesser of two evils compared with Raphael Harvey-Pinard. Suzuki and Caufield are waiting to be ignited by the speed of Alex Newhook but that likely won't happen until Christian Dvorak returns to take a center slot.

Game Statistics

Canadiens (3-2-1)
Shots: 29
Face-off %: 36.7
Power play: 1/4
Penalty minutes: 8
Hits: 14
Blocks: 20

Devils (3-1-1)
Shots: 34
Face-off %: 63.3
Power play: 2/4
Penalty minutes: 8
Hits: 17
Blocks: 12

Scoring Summary

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Barron (2)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Matheson (1)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Devils Scorers
1st period: Holtz (1)
2nd period: Toffoli (2)
3rd period: Hischier (1)-PPG, Toffoli (3)-PPG, Toffoli (4)
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
MTL: Primeau (L) 0-1-0
NJD: Vanecek (W) 2-1-0

Canadiens Players of the Game

Justin Barron - It was the second goal in consecutive games for Barron. It was a tough test for the young defenseman being promoted to the top defense pairing and penalty-kill unit.

Gustav Lindstrom - Lindstrom played a steady game in his first action since being recalled from Laval. He was sheltered with less than 12 minutes of ice time.

Mike Matheson - Matheson led the team with five shots on net and scored a highlight reel goal. Both Canadiens goals came from defensemen.

Video Highlights

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y0oE5n-OHs[/embed]

Post-game Quotes

Cayden Primeau

"I felt good. It's hard to stay sharp when you're not playing, but I was just aiming to fight and be competitive. I didn't think too much about the goals allowed, because there are going to be some. I just wanted to give the club a chance to win."

Game Preview

Canadiens Savard Out Indefinitely, Lindstrom Recalled | PREVIEW: NJD @ MTL

Up Next

During the game against the Devils, the Canadiens announced that David Savard suffered a fractured left hand and will miss six to eight weeks.

The Canadiens continue their homestand by hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre on Thursday night.

Be sure to bookmark THN.com/Montreal for year-round coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, Laval Rocket, and Habs prospects playing in leagues around the world.