After playing their worst game of the season, according to coach Martin St-Louis. The Montreal Canadiens were looking for redemption against the New Jersey Devils, but Sheldon Keefe’s men had other plans.
For a second time in as many games, 60 minutes weren’t enough to crown a winner, and the Canadiens ended up on the wrong side of the decision, this time in overtime and not in the shootout.
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Goaltending Issues
Jakub Dobes is no longer undefeated this season, and he was visibly shaken speaking to the media:
We played good enough to win, just not good enough from my side. […] It happened last year, losing in overtime to these guys, and again this year, I'm just disappointed in myself.- Dobes on his performance tonight
The young goaltender admitted that he was taking the defeat personally, which, as Noah Dobson said, is a shame since he’s been excellent for the team so far this season. The blueliner called him a gamer, but in front of the media, the Czech goaltender was still drying off his tears.
The rookie netminder is right when he says he wasn’t good enough tonight, the first goal wasn’t a great one to give, the second one went through him, under his arm (granted the defensive coverage there wasn’t great, but the goaltender’s job is to bail out his teammates) and on the game-tying goal in the final frame, he just wasn’t quick enough to find the puck and freeze it. He ended up giving up four goals on 28 shots, which works out to a .857 save percentage, which is far from the level he’s been up to this season so far.
Jacob Markstrom wasn’t any better at the other end of the ice, though; he made 16 saves on the 19 shots he received, which worked out to a .842 SV. The second goal, scored by Jake Evans, should definitely have been stopped.
As for who should get the net on Saturday night, given the fact that it was ultimately a loss and to be fair to both goaltenders, Samuel Montembeault should get the net. However, given how shaken Dobes was, it’s essential that the team rallies around him, whether on the flight home or in practice. His teammates have to tell him that he cannot let one bad game get to him like that. He’s young, he’ll learn to handle things better.
On The First Pairing
Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson played quite a game at both ends of the ice. Dobson ended the night with a plus-three rating, picking up two assists and even stopping a puck from crossing the line behind Dobes. Granted, the puck had deflected on him, but it still takes lightning sharp reaction to manage to stop the puck from crossing the line.
As for Matheson, he also picked up an assist on the first goal of the game, but he was particularly impressive at the other end, blocking five shots. Just like Nick Suzuki didn’t hesitate to sacrifice his body to make a key block in the dying seconds of the game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Matheson blocked a shot with less than two minutes left in the game. Unfortunately for him, the block really hurt him, and he was unable to get back up to keep playing right away. The Devils ended up playing six-on-four on that sequence and ultimately tied the game, despite Matheson crawling to the net to land a hand.
It was an admirable effort by the first pairing, and it showed how vital those two defensemen are to the team.
Another Good Game For Dach
For a second game in a row, Dach found the back of the net, even though it wasn’t in a very elegant fashion since the puck went in a lucky deflection, but that doesn’t happen if he’s not willing to go into heavy traffic and battle for space and position.
Furthermore, he was perfect at the faceoff dot, winning his five draws. Puck drops have long been an issue for him, and this kind of performance is a big step in the right direction. The big center has been much more noticeable playing on a line with Zachary Bolduc and Brendan Gallagher this season.
Quick Hits
The penalty kill was stellar tonight, completely stifling the Devils and not surrendering a single goal on five penalties. Before this game, New Jersey had a 31.3% success rate on the power play, the fourth best in the league, making the feat even more impressive.
Nick Suzuki’s scoring streak came to an end after 12 games, and it seemed evident that the captain was bothered by something tonight. He didn’t have his usual speed, and he skipped practice yesterday for therapy reasons.
Jayden Struble could have put his team in trouble when he took a second minor penalty, this one for high-sticking. While the referees were harsh on his first penalty, this one was fully deserved and a careless one to take.
The Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday night when they take on the Utah Mammoth at the Bell Centre. With Thursday night’s defeat, Montreal was overtaken in the standings by the Devils, who are now the top team in the East. Still, the Habs remain second in the Conference and first in the Atlantic.
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