After Group A was put through its paces in a 45-minute practice at the Montreal Canadiens’ training camp, Group B and C faced off in the first scrimmage. Martin St-Louis was clear that he wanted to see some edge and intensity in this training camp to ensure that his men were at the right level of intensity when the season kicked off, and the players heard him loud and clear.

Group C featured the team’s first line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, as well as veteran defensemen Noah Dobson and Mike Matheson—five players who are guaranteed a roster spot. As for Group B, it included the players who are likely to fight it out for the bottom six. One line was formed by Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans, and Josh Anderson, while the other featured Zack Bolduc, Alex Newhook, and Owen Beck. As training camp advances, I fully expect to see the likes of Oliver Kapanen, Florian Xhekaj, Joe Veleno, and Samuel Blais to get an opportunity in Beck’s spot.

Canadiens: Dach Learned The Error Of His Ways
Canadiens: 3 Contract Extension Candidates To Watch
Canadiens: Russian Prospect Still Has His Eye On The Habs

Jakub Dobes was in the net for Group B while Jacob Fowler was in the net for Group C, for the first 25-minute period. Both goaltenders were flawless as no goals were scored, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. A few players stood out right from the start; Arber Xhekaj, who skated alongside Alexandre Carrier when the puck dropped joined into the attack every chance he got and is decision-making was good, not once did he take himself out of the play by committing to a hit and forgetting the puck, mind you, this is training camp, no-one wants to injure anyone with overly physical hits.

Up front, Bolduc looked great on Newhook’s wing and was able to match his speed. There is potential in that duo and a lot of it. Beck wasn’t that visible on the other wing, and he failed to impress in my view. Meanwhile, Gallagher, Evans, and Anderson kept up the good forechecking work. It makes sense to have Evans and Anderson on the same line and not just because of their playing style, but also because they are the two remaining forward penalty killers on the team; the more familiar they get, the better.

The deadlock was broken in the second and last 25-minute period with Slafkovsky cashing in on Caufield and Suzuki’s efforts, picking up an easy goal on the doorstep as the puck lay there in the crease by Kaapo Kahkonen, who was on duty for that frame. The 29-year-old netminder would give up another goal, that one to Israel Mianscum, who beat him with a quick snap shot, making the score 2-0 Group C, which would stand as the final score.

Not that Group B didn’t have its opportunities, but Hunter Jones, who came in relief of Fowler, was flawless as well, even stopping Beck, who was coming at him all alone. The fact that this was such a low-scoring affair is not worrying. St-Louis had said yesterday that this was no time for “shinny hockey”; school is back in session, and recess is over. The bench boss also said that he wanted to see his team concentrate on the defensive side of the game, and Thursday’s display shows that they heard him.

On Friday, Group B will be practicing at 9:15 AM while Group A will take on Group C at 10:30. In other words, Suzuki and co. They will be facing off against the second line, which is formed by Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, and Ivan Demidov. Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle are also part of Group A, and I think we may just see a bot score more goals than, even if the players do try to be good defensively, some talents are just that hard to keep in check.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.

Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.

Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.