The Montreal Canadiens ended their preseason with a win at the Bell Centre over the Ottawa Senators. Samuel Montembeault, Juraj Slafkovsky and Chris Kreider stole the show.
For one last preseason game, one half of the Montreal Canadiens faced one half of the Ottawa Senators in Montreal, while the other halves faced off in Ottawa. The Canadiens had a more veteran-heavy lineup at home, including the new iteration of the first line, which meant captain Nick Suzuki finally got a chance to take on his brother Ryan, even if it was only in a preseason game. The coaches elected to have them both take the opening faceoff, creating a nice memory for the family, especially with their father, Rob, in town to visit his granddaughter and catch the game. Both brothers got an assist, but the Habs captain was victorious, and Montreal won 4-2.
Battle Of The Goaltenders
Jacob Fowler and Samuel Montembeault split the net on the night; it was Montembeault’s first start at the Bell Centre since his collapse last season, and he needed it to be a good one.
The Florida native got the start and gave up two goals on nine shots in the first frame, but both were power-play markers. Derek Lalonde’s new PK system may take time to be effective. He stayed in net for nearly 11 minutes in the second, didn’t give up another goal and looked good hugging the post on a fake wraparound attempt. He finished his night with 16 saves on 18 shots for an .889 save percentage.
After the game, Martin St-Louis was asked about the penalty kill struggles, and he immediately said: “Yeah, Derek’s going to have some work,” before adding: “We were a little bit too aggressive, I thought; there has to be a balance between aggressiveness, and we’ll keep working on that. We’ve got to move well; it’s going to take time. We’ve got to be proactive and aggressive- aggressive patience.”
Montembeault came in with 9:17 left in the second, and the crowd cheered his arrival. Shortly after his entrance, the Habs found themselves on the penalty kill, and the netminder made a series of three big saves, including one on a Mike Matheson deflection (funnily enough, last Saturday in Toronto, the blueliner was the only one to beat the Canadiens goaltenders).
When Montembeault finally managed to freeze the puck, he received thunderous applause and the “Monty, Monty, Monty” chants erupted in the Bell Centre as if it was 2024. For the netminder who hadn’t played in this building in seven months, that was huge. I don’t even remember the last time I played at the Bell Centre," said Montembeault. It was a lot of fun, and as soon as I came out on the ice and the goalie change was announced, there was some noise, so it’s great to get that kind of love.
Edmonton Oilers scout Warren Rychel was in the building tonight, and even though Frederik Andersen is only meant to be out short-term, his injury history is far from reassuring. If the scout was in town to watch Montembeault, he won’t have been disappointed. If he wasn’t, and Kent Hughes can’t find a landing spot for the Bécancour native, his camp performance has been reassuring. He’s given a single goal on 35 shots.
A First For Kreider
Chris Kreider wasted no time making friends in town. With the Habs down 1-0 in the first frame, the power forward headed to the front of the net and pushed a loose puck behind Samuel Ersson. The crowd burst into loud applause, and 2014 seems further and further away now. “It was awesome, said the big winger about scoring for the home team at the Bell Centre, it’s a fantastic building to play in and in front of our home fans.” Asked if it was better to get cheers than to be booed in Montreal, he cracked a huge smile and said, "100% it is."
Surprising Chemistry
The improvised line of Alex Newhook, Phillip Danault and Juraj Slafkovsky had never played together before this game, but it certainly didn’t show. The Slovak winger ended the game with a goal and two assists in just under 17 minutes of action. Over the years, Slafkovsky has had a habit of starting the season slowly, but this time around he seems ready to take his game to another level. In the past, he’d take a couple of months to warm up, but right now, he’s bringing a lot of pace to his game, which makes his forecheck particularly efficient. A couple of times tonight, Senators players just gave up on the puck rather than let the power forward hit them.
While Slafkovsky is a power forward like Kreider, the new acquisition doesn’t really see himself in him: No, I think we’re a lot different. I mean, he wears 20 [chuckles]; he’s a big fella, but he’s very smooth; he’s got long reach. I think I was more barreling, to put it lightly. Didn’t have nearly the edge control he did; I was kind of out of control, driving the net hard, trying to get breakaways. […] I was very north-south. For a big guy, he’s got east-west; he’s got skills. When I was his age, I was in college; there’s no comparison.
The Canadiens end their preseason with four wins and a loss and are about ready to get down to business. They have until Monday at 5:00 PM to submit their 23-man roster.
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