Canadiens Weekly: Still Some Room For Improvement

It’s time once again to review the week in Montreal Canadiens Hockey.

Let’s get this out of the way now. The Habs can only get much worse before it gets better.

The good news is Carey Price will return to the team this week after missing the first month of the season after being a part of the NHL’s Player AssisG ance Program. The bad news is he will need to get into game shape which is going to take a couple of weeks or so.

More news on the return of Carey Price can be found here.

Now…this was another ugly week, Only highlight of the week is when the Canadiens shutout the Red Wings Tuesday evening after returning from their early West Coast road trip.

Onto the game recaps…

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Sunday, October 31, 2021: Montreal Canadiens at Anaheim Ducks

Montreal Canadiens Lines and Defencive Pairings

Jonathan Drouin		Christian Dvorak		Josh Anderson
Mike Hoffman		Nick Suzuki		Tyler Toffoli
Joel Armia		Josh Brooks		Cole Caufield
Artturi Lehkonen		Cedric Paquette		Jake Evans
	Ben Chiarot		Jeff Petry
	Alexander Romanov		David Savard
	Sami Niku		Brett Kulak
		Sam Montembeault
		Jake Allen
Scratched:	Mathieu Perreault	Chris Wideman	Brendan Gallagher
Injured:	Paul Byron (hip)
	Joel Teasdale (undisclosed)
	Joel Edmundson (undisclosed)
	Josh Brooks (undisclosed)

Anaheim Ducks Lines and Defencive Pairings

Ducks projected lineup
Adam Henrique		Ryan Getzlaf		Troy Terry
Max Comtois		Trevor Zegras		Sonny Milano
Sam Steel		Isac Lundestrom		Jakob Silfverberg
Nicolas Deslauriers		Benoit-Oliver Groulx		Derek Grant
	Hampus Lindholm		Jamie Drysdale
	Cam Fowler		Josh Manson
	Simon Benoit		Kevin Shattenkirk
		John Gibson
		Anthony Stolarz

Scratched:	Josh Mahura
Injured:	Rickard Rakell (upper body)
	Mason McTavish (lower body)
	Max Jones (upper body)

TXHT’s Game Recap: In Anaheim the Ducks would take on the struggling Montreal Canadiens, and in the first period Mike Hoffman would score on the powerplay for the Habs, but powerplay goals from Adam Henrique and Vinni Lettieri would give the Ducks the 2-1 lead. In the second period Jake Evans would score to tie the game at two for the Habs. Then in the third period Troy Terry and Sam Carrick would score to give the Ducks the 4-2 victory.

Scoring and Penalty Summary:

1st Period
1:43	MTL	Brett Kulak	for	Holding the Stick	2 min
3:39	ANA	PP Goal	Adam Henrique (4)	Assisted by	Sonny Milano (3), Kevin Shattenkirk (6)
4:07	ANA	Sam Carrick	for	Interference	2 min
4:12	MTL	PP Goal	Mike Hoffman (4)	Assisted by	Chris Wideman (1), Jonathan Drouin (5)
10:17	ANA	Sonny Milano	for	Roughing	2 min
10:17	MTL	Cedric Paquette	for	Boarding (served by Adam Brooks)	5 min
10:17	MTL	Cedric Paquette	for	Roughing	2 min
10:17	MTL	Cedric Paquette	for	Misconduct	10 min
12:47	ANA	PP Goal	Vinni Lettieri (1)	Assisted by	Adam Henrique (5), Kevin Shattenkirk (7)
13:45	MTL	Artturi Lehkonen	for	Holding	2 min
2nd Period
2:44	ANA	Derek Grant	for	Slashing	2 min
3:20	MTL	Jonathan Drouin	for	Hooking	2 min
6:55	MTL	Brett Kulak	for	Hooking	2 min
9:52	ANA	Troy Terry	for	Holding Stick	2 min
18:05	MTL	Goal	Jake Evans (1)	Assisted by	Artturi Lehkonen (1), Jeff Petry (1)
3rd Period
7:25	ANA	Kevin Shattenkirk	for	Hooking	2 min
10:10	ANA	Goal	Troy Terry (5)	Assisted by	Ryan Getzlaf (7), Cam Fowler (5)
18:50	ANA	EN Goal	Sam Carrick (1)	Assisted by	Cam Fowler (6), Isac Lundestrom (7)

Period by Period Statistical Summary:

1st Period Stats	MTL – 1	ANA – 2
Faceoffs	9	12
Power Play	1/1	2/3
Shots	5	10
Hits	7	6
2nd Period Stats	MTL – 2	ANA – 2
Faceoffs	22	23
Power Play	1/3	2/5
Shots	12	17
Hits	21	14
3rd Period Stats	MTL – 2	ANA – 4
Faceoffs	29	34
Power Play	1/4	2/6
Shots	18	26
Hits	16	22

Things to focus on in the next contest: Attack the net. Losing Paquette due to the misconduct is unacceptable and was served a two game suspension by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. This is another big loss to a team that is already depleted across the board.

Next contest: November 2nd v. Detroit Red Wings

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November 2nd, 2021: Detroit Red Wings at Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens Lines and Defencive Pairings

Tyler Toffoli		Nick Suzuki		Brendan Gallagher
Mike Hoffman		Jonathan Drouin		Josh Anderson
Artturi Lehkonen		Christian Dvorak		Joel Armia
Michael Pezzetta		Jake Evans		Alex Belzile
	Ben Chiarot		Jeff Petry
	Brett Kulak		David Savard
	Sami Niku		Chris Wideman
		Jake Allen
		Samuel Montembeault

Detroit Red Wings Lines and Defencive Pairings

Robby Fabbri		Michael Rasmussen		Lucas Raymond
Filip Zadina		Pius Suter		Adam Erne
Vladislav Namestnikov		Joe Veleno		Sam Gagner
Givani Smith		Mitchell Stephens		Carter Rowney
	Danny DeKeyser		Moritz Seider
	Nick Leddy		Filip Hronek
	Mark Staal		Jordan Oesterle
		Alex Nedeljkovic
		Thomas Greiss

TXHT’s Game Recap: In Montreal the Canadiens would take on the Original Six rival Detroit Red Wings. In the first period Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson would score to give the Habs the 2-0 lead. Then after a scoreless second period Brendan Gallagher would score to give the Canadiens the 3-0 victory over the Red Wings.

Scoring and Penalty Summary:

1st Period
2:06	MTL	Goal	Nick Suzuki (1)	Tyler Toffoli (3), Jeff Petry (2)
9:18	MTL	Goal	Josh Anderson (3)	Nick Suzuki (6), Brendan Gallagher (2)
2nd Period
8:36	MTL	Brendan Gallagher	Tripping	2 min
10:11	MTL	David Savard	Interference	2 min
3rd Period
10:02	DET	Robby Fabbri	Cross Checking	2 min
17:59	MTL	EN Goal	Brendan Gallagher (2)	Tyler Toffoli (4), Nick Suzuki (7)

Period by Period Statistical Summary:

1st Period Stats	DET – 0	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	7	14
Power Play	0/0	0/0
Shots	12	10
Hits	7	9
2nd Period Stats	DET – 0	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	16	39
Power Play	0/2	0/0
Shots	25	23
Hits	18	18
3rd Period Stats	DET – 0	MTL – 3
Faceoffs	29	28
Power Play	0/2	0/1
Shots	36	38
Hits	28	21

Things to focus on in the next contest: Better showing on the ice as they shut out the Red Wings. Still a couple of things to clean up going into the next contest but this was one of their best showings this season.

Next contest: November 4th v. New York Islanders

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November 4th, 2021: New York Islanders at Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens Lines and Defencive Pairings

Tyler Toffoli		Nick Suzuki		Brendan Gallagher
Mike Hoffman		Christian Dvorak		Josh Anderson
Artturi Lehkonen		Jake Evans		Joel Armia
Michael Pezzetta		Adam Brooks		Alex Belzile
	Ben Chiarot		Jeff Petry
	Brett Kulak		David Savard
	Alexander Romanov		Chris Wideman
		Jake Allen
		Samuel Montembeault

New York Islanders Lines and Defencive Pairings

Anders Lee		Mat Barzal		Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier		Brock Nelson		Kyle Palmer
Zach Parise		Jean-Gabriel Pageau		Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin		Casey Cizikas		Cal Clutterbuck
	Adam Pelech		Scott Mayfield
	Zdeno Chara		Ryan Pulock
	Andy Greene		Noah Dobson
		Ilya Sorokin
		Semyon Varlamov

TXHT’s Game Recap: In Montreal the New York Islanders would come to town to face the Canadiens, and Brock Nelson would get the first period tally to give the Isles the 1-0 lead. In the second period Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau would score and Nelson would net a pair to complete his hat trick to give the Isles the dominating five goal lead. Theni n the third period Nick Suzuki and Tyler Toffoli would score for the Habs, but Nelson’s fourth of the game would give the Islanders the 6-2 victory over the the Canadiens.

Scoring and Penalty Summary:

1st Period
4:14	NYI	Goal	Brock Nelson (3)	Kyle Palmieri (4), Anthony Beauvillier (2)
12:37	NYI	Noah Dobson	Slashing	2 min
2nd Period
3:31	NYI	Goal	Oliver Wahlstrom (5)	Casey Cizikas (1)
12:25	NYI	Goal	Brock Nelson (4)	Anthony Beauvillier (3), Zdeno Chara (1)
15:23	NYI	Goal	Brock Nelson (5)	Anthony Beauvillier (4)
18:08	NYI	Goal	Jean-Gabriel Pageau (1)	Zach Parise (1), Ryan Pulock (2)
3rd Period
2:35	MTL	Chris Wideman	Interference	2 min
4:52	MTL	David Savard	Hooking	2 min
13:29	MTL	Alex Belzile	Holding	2 min
15:20	MTL	SH	Nick Suzuki (2)	David Savard (3)
15:42	NYI	Scott Mayfield	Interference	2 min
16:16	NYI	Cal Clutterbuck	Cross Checking	2 min
17:04	MTL	PP	Tyler Toffoli (2)	Christian Dvorak (4), Nick Suzuki (8)
19:41	NYI	EN	Brock Nelson (6)	Zach Parise (2), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (3)

Period by Period Statistical Summary:

1st Period Stats	NYI – 1	MTL – 0
Faceoffs	9	12
Power Play	0/0	0/1
Shots	12	10
Hits	9	13
2nd Period Stats	NYI – 5	MTL – 0
Faceoffs	22	23
Power Play	0/0	0/1
Shots	25	23
Hits	21	21
3rd Period Stats	NYI – 6	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	29	34
Power Play	0/3	1/3
Shots	36	38
Hits	26	22

Things to focus on in the next contest: Everything. As soon as the second period started, the Canadiens defence was non-existant. Get back to the basics on defence and figure out what happened.

Next contest: November 6th v. Vegas Golden Knights

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November 6th, 2021: Vegas Golden Knights at Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens Lines and Defencive Pairings

Mike Hoffman		Jonathan Drouin		Josh Anderson
Tyler Toffoli		Nick Suzuki		Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen		Christian Dvorak		Joel Armia
Alex Belzile		Cedric Paquette		Jake Evans
	Ben Chiarot		Jeff Petry
	Brett Kulak		David Savard
	Alexander Romanov		Chris Wideman
		Jake Allen
		Sam Montembeault

Scratched:

Sami Niku

Michael Pezzetta’

Adam Brooks

Injured:

Paul Byron (hip)

Joel Edmundson (undisclosed)

Mathieu Perreault (eye)

Vegas Golden Knights Lines and Defencive Pairings

Jonathan Marchessault		Nicolas Roy		Reilly Smith
William Carrier		Chandler Stephenson		Evgenii Dadonov
Keegan Kolesar		Michael Amadio		Mattias Janmark
Brett Howden		Jake Leschyshyn		Jonas Rondbjerg
	Nicolas Hague		Alex Pietrangelo
	Alec Martinez		Shea Theodore
	Brayden McNabb		Dylan Coghaln
		Robin Lehner
		Laurent Brossoit

Scratched: Ben Hutton

Injured:

Max Pacioretty (fractured foot)

Mark Stone (lower body)

Zach Whitecloud (upper body)

Nolan Patrick (undisclosed)

William Karlsson (broken foot)

Game Recap: In a rematch of one of the Stanley Cup Seminfinals last spring, Vegas looks to get some revenge against a depleted Canadiens team. After back and forth action, and some toughness, Montreal gets on the board late in the first with a pair of goals from Nick Suzuki, his third on the year at 17:18, and Tyler Toffoli’s third of the year at 18:49, as the Habs head into the intermission with the 2-0 lead. In the second period, Vegas gets on the board with a power play goal from Alex Pietrangelo, his second of the season at 5:16. Vegas ties the contest with Jonathan Marchessault’s goal, his fifth of the year, at 10:24. Vegas takes the lead for good when Dylan Coghlan nets a power play goal, his first of the year, at 12:00. As the contest moves to the third, Vegas gets a pair of empty net goals when Chandler Stephenson nets his fifth at 17:09 and Brayden McNabb nets his first of the year with 35 seconds left in regulation as the Golden Knights defeat the Habs 5-2.

Scoring and Penalty Summary:

1st Period
MTL Penalty	Brendan Gallagher	for	Roughing	2 min minor	11:57
VGK Penalty	Nicolas Hague	for	Roughing	2 min minor	11:57
VGK Penalty	Nicolas Roy	for	Holding	2 min minor	15:33
MTL PP Goal	Nick Suzuki (3)	Assisted by	Mike Hoffman (1)		17:18
MTL Goal	Tyler Toffoli (3)	Assisted by	Brendan Gallagher (3)	Nick Suzuki (9)	18:49
2nd Period
VGK Penalty	Nicolas Roy	for	Tripping	2 min minor	:20
MTL Penalty	Ben Chiarot	for	Delay of Game-Puck over Glass	2 min minor	5:05
VGK PP Goal	Alex Pietrangelo (2)	Assisted by	Shea Theodore (3)	Chandler Stephenson (7)	5:16
VGK Goal	Jonathan Marchessault	Assisted by	Nicolas Roy ( 5)	Nicolas Hague (4)	10:24
MTL Penalty	Cedric Paquette	for	Cross-checking	2 min minor	10:41
VGK PP Goal	Dylan Coghlan (1)	Assisted by	Alex Pietrangelo (2)	Reilly Smith (4)	12:00
VGK Penalty	William Carrier	for	Hooking	2 min minor	19:04
3rd Period
VGK Penalty	Jake Leschyshyn	for	Tripping	2 min minor	5:22
MTL Penalty	Artturi Lehkonen	for	Roughing	2 min minor	16:24
VGK Penalty	Jake Leschyshyn	for	Roughing	2 min minor	16:24
VGK EN Goal	Chandler Stephenson (5)		Unassisted		17:09
VGK EN Goal	Brayden McNabb (1)	Assisted by	Robin Lehner (1)		19:25

Period by Period Statistical Summary:

1st Period Stats	VGK – 0	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	9	8
Power Play	0/0	1/1
Shots	1	20
Hits	5	13

2nd Period Stats	VGK – 3	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	21	19
Power Play	2/2	1/3*	1:04 left in PP
Shots	10	29
Hits	14	25

3rd Period Stats	VGK – 0	MTL – 2
Faceoffs	28	28
Power Play	2/2	1/4
Shots	18	38
Hits	18	32

Things to focus on in the next contest: Defence. Name of the game is defence. After coming out looking strong on the defencive front the first 40 minutes, things just fell flat into and throughout the third period. Overall, the game was strong for the Canadiens tonight but defence still needs a ton of work.

Next contest: November 9th v. Los Angeles Kings

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Upcoming Contests:

Tuesday, November 9th: Los Angeles Kings
Thursday, November 11th: Calgary Flames
Saturday, November 13th: at Detroit Red Wings