On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens delivered a workman-like performance for 60 minutes, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 at Scotiabank Arena. Marty St. Louis expressed his appreciation for the complete effort to earn a preseason road win. “I’m proud of the guys that played tonight. [..] It was an excellent game, sixty minutes of good hockey,” said the Canadiens head coach.
Sean Farrell and Alex Newhook each had a goal and an assist earning the first and second star of the game respectively. Lane Hutson and Riley Kidney notched the other two goals for the Canadiens, both coming via the power play.
The strong effort was in stark contrast to an embarrassing loss at the hands of a no-name team wearing the colors of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Montreal on Thursday evening. What made the defeat sting a little deeper is that Marty St. Louis deployed his entire top six, his top defense pair and his starting goaltender. Not to mention that the game took place in the friendly confines of the Bell Centre.
It would be easy to brush the result off by saying that it was only a preseason contest. But that attitude flies in the face of the strong words we heard from the Canadiens head coach at the start of training camp saying “It starts right now.”
This Week’s Show
With the Canadiens having played three of their six preseason contests prior to Saturday night with inconsistent effort, it was time for the performance of the players to match the St. Louis’ rhetoric. And they delivered against the Leafs in Toronto.
Executing the coach’s vision to ensure a good start to the regular season is the subject of the latest episode of the Canadiens Connection podcast. You’ll hear from coach Marty St. Louis, forwards Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine.
NEW PODCAST: From Urgency to Uncertainty: Habs’ Dose of Reality | Canadiens Connection ep 367
We also discussed the following topics on this week’s show:
- Canadiens young defenseman faces another challenge to his development.
- Dynamic Habs prospect tallies a multi-point game in regular season debut.
- Rankings are released for the NHL’s best goaltending tandems.
CC Question of the Week: What’s the biggest “dose of reality” you think the Canadiens must face heading into this season?
It is our eighth season, with a new episode of the podcast dropping every Saturday afternoon. Be sure to subscribe using your favorite podcast app! Or watch our episodes on YouTube!
Canadiens Connection Podcast: Habs Dose of Reality
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