For a second night in a row, there was some hockey at the Bell Centre as the Montreal Canadiens hosted a depleted Florida Panthers side. Without Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Brad Marchand and Seth Jones, the Cats had quite a challenge ahead of them, even though they were the rested side.

As for the Canadiens, they didn’t look tired at all in this second game in as many nights, although they certainly didn't play their best game either. Samuel Montembeault was back in the net, against the team that had drafted him and then waived him a few years later. Given that the Canadiens were after a seventh consecutive win over Florida, it was a smart move to start him and let him face the Bell Centre crowd in those circumstances.

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There’s Something About Kapi

There’s been a lot of talk about Juraj Slafkovski and Ivan Demidov so far this season. Still, their centerman, Oliver Kapanen, has largely gone unnoticed despite having a cracker of a rookie season. In Thursday’s game, his prowess at the faceoff dot led directly to the first goal of the game, as he managed to get the puck to Mike Matheson after the draw, who then fed it to Noah Dobson, who wired it in.

Then, later in the first frame, he went to the net while Slafkovsky was hard at work below the blue line, and when Sergei Bobrovsky poked the power forward’s pass in the air, he showed tremendous hand-eye coordination to bat it in. That was his 15th goal of the season, giving him the lead in that category amongst rookies. The two points also allowed him to tie Ryan Leonard in fourth place in the rookie scoring race. And by the end of the night, he had a third with an assist on Slafkovsky’s empty netter to take sole possession of fourth place.

As great as he’s been offensively, though, it’s how mature the defensive side of his game is that impresses me the most. He’s very responsible on the ice, reads the play well and makes sound decisions. He’s also got a 46% success rate in the faceoff department, and while that’s not exactly great, it’s not atrocious for a rookie center either.

Unconditional Support

After playing a dominating first frame against the depleted Panthers, the Canadiens struggled a bit in the second frame. They had issues linking up in the offensive zone, and they looked a bit all over the place in their own zone as well, especially after Montembeault gave Samuel Bennet a goal with a no-look back pass as he was out of his net, but the fans' support didn’t waver.

The Habs had their first shot of the period after nearly 14 minutes of play. Still, they were opportunistic, and Alexandre Texier, scoring for a second game in a row, deflected it past Bobrovsky. It gave the Canadiens their two-goal lead back, and that’s all the fans needed to get the wave going during the TV timeout, despite the lacklustre period the Habs were playing.

People often say that there is too much pressure in the Montreal market, but this crowd seems to be head over heels in love with this young team. It shows in moments like these. Nobody booed when Montembeault gifted Bennett a goal, and seconds later, when he made a save that wasn’t all that challenging, a Monty chant broke out in the crowd.

Speaking to the media after the game, the goaltender said the crowd's support helped him move past the blunder he made by giving Bennett the puck. It’s easy to understand why: those are the moments when you need the most support, and getting it is enormous for an athlete.

What A Coup

For the second game in a row, Texier was named the first star, and with good reason, as he put up three points in both games. This time, though, he scored a hat trick, the first of his career. Only three other players have managed to score three points or more on back-to-back nights with the Canadiens: Tyler Toffoli (2021), Pierre Turgeon (1996) and Martin Rucinsky (1996).

Asked about his new player, Martin St-Louis said:

It's still a small sample, but we’re happy with that sample. A player that’s still young, he’s talented, he had to overcome his own obstacles, just like Montembeault. It doesn’t matter where you are and how you got there; what matters is how you keep moving forward. There’s mental strength that comes with that, but also intentions. Your actions have to match your thoughts. […] Confidence doesn’t start when the puck drops; it’s way before that. It’s reps in practices, how you prepare. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to be successful.

- The coach on Texier

Even though St-Louis knew quite a bit about Texier before the Canadiens acquired him, since he had watched him play for the Columbus Blue Jackets, the coach didn’t take credit for the acquisition. He explained that he has complete confidence in the work Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are doing, that they work well together, and that he has just tried not to get in the way.

The win allowed the Canadiens to reclaim the first place in the Atlantic Division, a spot they hadn't been in for quite some time. After a day off on Friday, the Habs will host the Detroit Red Wings at the Bell Centre on Saturday night, a crucial game since the Wings are just behind the Habs in the division. 

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