Canadiens Weekly: Free Falling

After another pause in Montreal Canadiens hockey, the Habs took the ice with two games this week.

The Habs went 0-1-1 on the week with match-ups on the road against the Bruins and the Blackhawks.

We are going to take a look at the games, some stats, areas of focus for the next game, and finally, the outlook of the next week’s schedule of games.

---

Wednesday, January 12th, 2022: Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins

TXHT Game Recap: Originally slated to be in Montreal, the Boston Bruins would host the Canadiens instead for their Original Six matchup, and in the first period Brad Marchand would net a pair of goals and Curtis Lazar would score to give the Bruins the 3-0 lead. In the second period Marchand would complete the hat trick to grow the B’s lead to four, but Michael Pezzetta would score to get the Habs on the board and cut their deficit back to three. Then in the third period Curtis Lazar nets his fifth to give the Bruins the 5-1 victory over the Canadiens.

Period by Period Summary:

1st Period:
MTL Penalty: Jeff Petry for Playing Without a Helmet – 2 min minor – 09:22
BOS Goal: Brad Marchand (17) – Assisted by Tomas Nosek (5) and Curtis Lazar (6) – 14:43
BOS Goal: Brad Marchand (18) – Assisted by Craig Smith (8) and Patrice Bergeron (16) – 14:58
BOS Goal: Curtis Lazar (4) – Assisted by Jake DeBrusk (5) and Matt Grzelcyk (12) – 19:10

2nd Period:
BOS Penalty: Patrice Bergeron for Slashing – 2 min minor – 03:18
BOS Penalty: Erik Haula for Hooking – 2 min minor – 06:41
BOS SH Goal: Brad Marchand (19) – Assisted by John Moore (1) and Patrice Bergeron (17) – 07:10
MTL Penalty: Ben Chiarot for Roughing – 2 min minor – 07:50
MTL Goal: Michael Pezzetta (2) – Assisted by Brett Kulak (7) – 10:47
BOS Penalty: Patrice Bergeron for Roughing – 2 min minor – 11:49
MTL Penalty: Nick Suzuki for Holding – 2 min minor – 13:41
MTL Penalty: Brett Kulak for Slashing – 2 min minor – 19:10

3rd Period:
BOS Penalty: Craig Smith for Tripping – 2 min minor – 00:47
BOS Penalty: Brad Marchand for Interference – 2 min minor – 05:48
BOS Penalty: Brandon Carlo for Roughing – 2 min minor – 06:57
MTL Penalty: Michael Pezzetta for Roughing – 2 min minor – 06:57
MTL Penalty: Chris Wideman for Roughing – 2 min minor – 06:57
MTL Penalty: Chris Wideman for Unsportsmanlike Conduct – 2 min minor – 06:57
BOS Penalty: Erik Haula for Roughing – 2 min minor – 2 min minor – 06:57
BOS Goal: Curtis Lazar (5) – Assisted by Urho Vaakanainen (3) and Anton Blidh (6) – 10:19
BOS Penalty: Linus Ullmark for Interference (served by Taylor Hall) – 2 min minor – 15:05
MTL Penalty: Laurent Dauphine for Embellishment – 2 min minor – 15:05
BOS Penalty: Erik Haula for Fighting – 5 min major – 15:05
MTL Penalty: Laurent Dauphine for Fighting – 5 min major – 15:05

Period by Period Statistical Summary

1st Period

	Montreal – 0	Boston -3
Faceoffs	9	13
Power Play	0/0	0/1
Shots	6	13
Hits	14	12

2nd Period

	Montreal – 1	Boston – 4
Faceoffs	21	26
Power Play	0/3	0/4* 1:10 left on PP
Shots	15	28
Hits	22	17

3rd Period

	Montreal – 1	Boston – 5
Faceoffs	33	36
Power Play	0/5	0/5
Shots	25	41
Hits	29	21

What Needs to Be Worked On Going Into Next Game: Just go back to the drawing board.

Next Game: Thursday, January 13th, 2022 at Chicago Blackhawks

---

Thursday, January 13th, 2022: Montreal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks

TXHT Game Recap: In Chicago the Blackhawks would play host to their Original Six rival Montreal Canadiens, and in the first period Dminik Kubalik would score to give the Blackhawks the 1-0 lead. In the second period Jeff Petry and Mike Hoffman would score for the Habs to take the 2-1 lead. Then in the third period Patrick Kane would score to tie the game at two to send the game to overtime. Then in the extra frame Philipp Kurashev would score to give the Blackhawks the 3-2 victory over the Canadiens.

Period by Period Summary:

1st Period:
CHI Goal: Dominik Kubalik (7) – Assisted by Jonathan Toews (13) and Riley Stillman (8) – 07:42
MTL Penalty: Corey Schueneman for Hooking – 2 min minor – 09:05
CHI Penalty: Jonathan Toews for Holding – 2 min minor – 16:47

2nd Period:
CHI Penalty: Jujhar Khaira for Tripping – 2 min minor – 07:42
MTL Goal: Jeff Petry (1) – Assisted by Artturi Lehkonen (8) and Alexander Romanov (5) – 12:41
CHI Penalty: Ryan Carpenter for Instigator (served by Dominik Kubalik) – 2 min minor – 17:45
CHI Penalty: Ryan Carpenter for Misconduct – 17:45
CHI Penalty: Ryan Carpenter for Fighting – 5 min major – 17:45
MTL Penalty: Alexander Romanov for Fighting – 5 min major – 17:45
MTL PP Goal: Mike Hoffman (5) – Assisted by Cole Caufield (7) and Ben Chiarot (3) – 18:16
CHI Penalty: Riley Stillman for Delay of Game-Puck over Glass – 2 min minor – 19:18

3rd Period:
MTL Penalty: Jeff Petry for Tripping – 2 min minor – 02:10
CHI PP Goal: Patrick Kane (8) – Assisted by Erik Gustafsson (7) and Alex DeBrincat (7) – 02:21
MTL Penalty: Joel Armia for Illegal Check to the Head – 2 min minor – 07:08
MTL Penalty: Laurent Dauphine for Hi-sticking – 2 min minor – 16:50

Overtime:
CHI Goal: Philipp Kurashev (3) – Assisted by

Period by Period Statistical Summary

1st Period

	Montreal – 0	Chicago – 1
Faceoffs	6	6
Power Play	0/1	0/1
Shots	3	13
Hits	14	9

2nd Period

	Montreal – 2	Chicago – 1
Faceoffs	17	11
Power Play	1/4* 1:18 left in PP	0/1
Shots	20	19
Hits	33	17

3rd Period

	Montreal – 2	Chicago – 2
Faceoffs	25	22
Power Play	1/4	1/4
Shots	28	30
Hits	39	23

Overtime

	Montreal – 2	Chicago – 3
Faceoffs	26	22
Power Play	1/4	1/4
Shots	29	31
Hits	39	24

What Needs to Be Worked On Going Into Next Game: Don’t take penalties late into the game with a lead while still playing a complete 60 minute game.

Next Game: Monday, January 17th, 2022 at Arizona Coyotes

---

This Week’s Schedule of Games:

Monday, January 17th, 2022: at Arizona Coyotes
Tuesday, January 18th, 2022: at Dallas Stars
Thursday, January 20th, 2022: at Vegas Golden Knights
Saturday, January 22nd, 2022: at Colorado Avalanche