After a successful October, the Montreal Canadiens kicked off November with a 4-3 overtime win against the rival Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens set an NHL record with five overtime wins through the team’s first 12 games of a season. While it’s always impressive to set a league record, this particular mark is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the second collected point is important to accomplish the objective of earning a playoff spot. On the other hand, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins, and the Canadiens aren’t doing themselves any favours. At the conclusion of Saturday’s action, Montreal was in a three-way tie for most points overall with 18, but ninth in terms of regulation wins.
“It would have been fun to separate a little more. We had the chances to lead more than two goals,” Martin St. Louis said following the contest versus Ottawa. Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson hit the posts during the game. “It’s been like that since the start of the season. It’s not the lack of chances we get to separate more, and it’s not an easy league.” The Habs blew a third period lead in five of their last seven games, managing to win three of those in overtime.
Montreal hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and the Utah Mammoth on Saturday, with a quick trip to New Jersey on Thursday to face the Devils.
Rocket Recap
The Laval Rocket began a four-game homestand on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers). Jacob Fowler had an easy night between the pipes, making 17 saves for his second shutout of the season. On Friday, the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) defeated Laval 2-1, and in the rematch, AHL veteran Laurent Dauphin led the way with four goals in the Rocket’s 5-2 win the following afternoon. The Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers) visit Place Bell on Friday, before Laval faces the Belleville Senators (Ottawa) on Sunday.
Rocket Notes
Here are notes from the three games.
- David Reinbacher made his season debut on Friday after suffering a broken hand during a September 25th preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He showed signs of rust on the first night and was on the ice for both of Rochester’s goals. On the winning goal, Reinbacher’s failed attempt to intercept a pass in the neutral zone led to a clear path to Kaapo Kahkonen’s net for the score. He looked more comfortable the following day and obtained a primary assist while playing on the second power play unit.
- The Canadiens sent Joshua Roy and Marc Del Gaizo to Laval in time for the doubleheader against the Sabres affiliate. Pascal Vincent gave Roy important roles over the weekend, including top six assignment, top power play unit, and time on the penalty kill. After a quiet performance on Friday, Roy obtained two primary assists and took five shots on goal on Saturday.
- The additions of Reinbacher, Roy, and Del Gaizo to the roster forced Vincent to make decisions. Vincent removed Florian Xhekaj from the power play and Owen Beck from the penalty kill.
- Jared Davidson continued his excellent start to the season and scored in all three games of the week. He’s currently on a four-game scoring streak with five goals during that stretch, and co-leads the AHL with seven goals entering Sunday’s action.
- William Trudeau made his season debut on Saturday, after clearing waivers earlier in the week. He was out since last year’s playoffs when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle. Trudeau obtained an assist on his first shift of the afternoon with a pass to Dauphin.
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