After losing to the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] for the last nine games, the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] were finally able to put an end to that losing streak by taming their pet peeve. It wasn’t always easy, even against a team that was playing its third game in four nights, but when all was said and done after 60 minutes, the Habs had scored one more goal than the Wild, even if they scored the last one with just 15 seconds left. For the first time since November 15, Kirby Dach was playing, and while there was some understandable rust, he didn’t look out of place playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the first line. He spent almost 17 minutes on the ice despite missing over two months of action. Canadiens’ Prospect On The Verge Of Making History [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prospect-on-the-verge-of-making-history] Canadiens Facing Big Patrik Laine Decision [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-facing-big-patrik-laine-decision] Canadiens: Kent Hughes’ Best move [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-kent-hughes-best-move] MESSAGE RECEIVED After mustering just 16 shots in regulation in their dramatic overtime win over the Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators], the Canadiens did a lot of shooting at Monday’s practice in Brossard, and it showed. Martin St-Louis’ men had heard the message loud and clear, and they were shooting from left, right, and center throughout the first frame, reaching 15 shots, just one short of their Saturday night output. Furthermore, they only allowed Minnesota to take two shots in the first 20 minutes, in what was perhaps their most dominant period of the season, even if the scoreboard didn’t make that overly obvious. Montreal did struggle to get pucks on net at the start of the third frame, though, even though they enjoyed a power play. As the coach mentioned, their power play didn’t give them any momentum tonight, but there will be games like that. After 10 minutes, they had no shots, but once the Wild had equalized, they managed to test Jesper Wallstedt nine times, and the last one was the right one. IT WAS A STRUGGLE If the Canadiens played well both offensively and defensively, Jakub Dobes struggled in net. It’s hard to fault him on the first goal, which came on a Vladimir Tarasenko one-timer on the power play, but the other two goals shouldn’t have gone in. On the second one, Brock Faber took a shot that wasn’t all that strong from the blueline, and it wasn’t deflected, or at least not by anyone other than Dobes himself, who got some of it with his glove, but not enough, and the puck ended in the net. It was the third goal that was the most unsettling, however, since the netminder lost his balance without being touched by anyone else, which unsteadied him, and less than 15 seconds later, the puck was in the net. Dobes has never been perfect from a technical standpoint, but if he loses his positioning when it’s not provoked, it won’t end well. Oftentimes, he doesn’t look in control in the net, just like earlier in the third frame when he was scrambling madly to try to get the puck that was bouncing on the ice in the middle of traffic. He ended up looking like a bear skin in front of a fireplace back in the 1980’s, and while he didn’t have control of the puck, he mercifully got a quick whistle. Since Jacob Fowler was sent back to the Laval Rocket, neither Dobes nor Samuel Montembeault has been very convincing in net. CLUTCH CAUFIELD Once again, Cole Caufield came up clutch for the Canadiens, scoring his league-leading seventh game-winning goal of the season. There’s no denying that the sniper has talent, but he also has great instinct. Speaking after the game, St. Louis explained: > He takes a shot from there that’s not necessarily his spot, but it’s where the > game was asking him to go, based on where everybody else was on the ice. We > had a lot of motion […], but you have to have balance inside that motion. > Danault was at the net, guys changed spots a lot during that sequence, Suzi > ended up on the right, and then Cole came and supported that, to keep us in > balance. It doesn’t guarantee he’s going to get it, but when you’re playing > balanced, the guy who has the puck has options. - Martin St-Louis on Caufield That’s what’s special about Caufield: his ability to read the play and make the right decision. That’s the reason why a guy who many called “too small” can score so many goals in the NHL. Tonight’s lamplighter was his 25th of the season, meaning he’s on pace for 41 on the year. It truly is surprising that Team USA considered that it didn’t need that kind of goal-scoring ability or that capacity to score when it matters the most. The Canadiens will be back on the ice in Brossard on Wednesday morning to get ready for Thursday night’s duel with the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
