The youth movement is alive and well in Montreal, as some of the team's newer players stepped into the spotlight against the Senators.
In the second exhibition game of the 2023 NHL preseason, the Montreal Canadiens hosted the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre and went on to win their first preseason matchup in recent years. While the makeup of the overall game still served as a measuring stick and evaluation tool for the Habs' brass, the players brought some emotion and motivation onto the ice.
During a pregame warmups interview, Cole Caufield stated that his goal for the night was to get a win and break Montreal's preseason losing streak, stretching over the past few seasons. Earlier in the day, Sean Monahan admitted that he was experiencing game-day nerves for the first time in a while, in anticipation of returning to the ice after his injury rehabilitation.
Caufield delivered for his team, scoring the game-winner and adding an assist on Monahan's game-tying goal. There were also flashes of impressive play from Kirby Dach, Jared Davidson, Kaiden Guhle, and Juraj Slafkovsky.
This week, I've pinpointed five players who stood out in Wednesday's game against the Sens, including some players the media and fans are all abuzz about, and others whose performance might be considered a pleasant surprise during this training camp.
Want to hear my full analysis? Just click the following link to watch this week's episode of Habs Hockey Report on YouTube: Goal Caufield is BACK!
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