Fresh from a day off after their win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens came out strong against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Martin St-Louis’ men were ready from the puck drop and skated with speed while showing great anticipation, forcing the Pens to commit 11 giveaways in the first frame alone.

The Habs were without newly acquired Phillip Danault, who is set to join the team in Boston on Monday, but they could have used him. Jake Evans, who started the game very well by bulldozing Tommy Novak, left the game before the four-minute mark after colliding with Ben Kindell twice near the blueline on a penalty kill. As soon as he exited the ice, he went straight to the dressing room when he got off the ice, never to be seen again.

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Slafkovsky Did It All

While he doesn’t play with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield anymore at even strength, Juraj Slafkovsky still skates with them on the first power play unit, and he made the most out of it when he scored the first goal of the game.

The big Slovak did absolutely everything on the play: he stretched his stick to poke the puck away from the Penguins' recovery attempt to Suzuki, then headed back to the slot and tapped the ice to ask for the puck, which Caufield passed to him. He didn’t one-time it, though; he walked in, picked his spot and beat Stuart Skiner with a sharp wrister high.

That was a fantastic shift, a perfect demonstration of how his game has improved this year: his confidence, his ability to shift from attack to defence and then attack again effortlessly. It’s great to see.

He didn’t let up in the second either; minutes into the frame, he backchecked and robbed the Penguins of a scoring chance. With Evans leaving the game so early, he even got to play on two lines at times, filling in between Josh Anderson and Alex Texier. It shows just how much St-Louis appreciates his body of work.

Fowler Shuts The Door

Through 40 minutes of play, Jacob Fowler had only faced 14 shots, including only four in the second frame, but he had to make some high-quality saves. His positioning and technique remind me of one Carey Price. I’m not saying he’ll have the same kind of career, but he’s so well-positioned in his net that he can make any save look easy, much like the winningest goalie in Habs history.

He made a few highlight reel-worthy saves. Including one when a Pens’ defenseman faked a slap shot but passed the puck cross-zone on the doorstep to Connor Dewar, who one-time it. The left-winger might have thought it would be an easy goal, but Fowler calmly followed the puck and made the save with a side-to-side move.

Later in the frame, he had to make the split to reach a puck, and while a rebound could have left him vulnerable, he managed to freeze the puck right away. Later still, Sidney Crosby walked in from the side with the puck on his stick, and he poke checked him as if there was nothing to it.

If I had written this straight after the second frame, when Pittsburgh had a total of 14 shots, I would have said it’s not about the quantity of shots but about the quality. However, in the final frame, the Penguins took 16 shots on net, and he once again saved them all. No matter how busy he is in a game, the youngster can maintain the same level of concentration, which is admirable.

In his fourth game in the NHL, Fowler was more impressive than in his first three, as if to send management a message that he’s not ready to go back down to Laval even if Samuel Montembeault is set to rejoin the team on Sunday. Both he and Jakub Dobes are waiver-exempt and could easily be sent down to Laval. Still, from a performance standpoint, neither deserves to be there right now, especially not after Fowler recorded the first shutout of his career. Asked about his young netminder, the bench boss explained:

He's a kid that you know, you feel like he’s got a lot of confidence, I think he believes in himself, and it’s not arrogance, there’s a big difference. He plays very maturely, like in all these games he’s getting right now, you can’t buy that experience. Playing on a Saturday night at the Bell Centre, you can’t buy that; you’ve got to live through it. He did that tonight, and he did a heck of a job. The way he carries himself, he seems like he’s been ready for this for a long time.

- St-Louis on Fowler

While Montembeault lost his two games with Laval, he did look good in Saturday’s game, but I wouldn’t send another goaltender down until I’ve tested him in the NHL.

Hughes’ Timely Acquisition

After the game, Jake Evans was still being evaluated, but the coach confirmed that he wasn’t flying with the team to Pittsburgh tonight. According to game footage, he got hurt on a knee-on-knee hit, and it would be surprising if he were to be ready to come back before the Christmas break. Montreal plays the Penguins again tomorrow and the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, which means that Phillip Danault’s acquisition will have been more than timely, especially since he and Danault can do the same kind of defensive work.

Watching the Penguins play tonight, I couldn’t help but wonder if Sidney Crosby would finish his career there. I was always of the opinion that he was a Penguins for life, but tonight, seeing what they could or, more importantly, couldn’t do, I couldn’t help but think it would be a waste of his talent. A bit like Connor McDavid trying to win the Stanley Cup in Edmonton without proper goaltending. Needless to say, the trade deadline should be interesting this season.

The Canadiens headed to Pittsburgh right after the game and will play there tomorrow night before heading to Boston for their last game before the Christmas break on Tuesday night.

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