On Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens blew a 3-0 and 4-2 lead against the New York Rangers on their way to 5-4 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden. Montreal took a 3-0 lead again the following night at the Bell Centre against the Oilers, but held on to win 4-1.
The home stand continues this week with visits from the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. On Sunday, the Habs and Penguins return to Pittsburgh for the third contest in 11 days.
Habs Notes
Here are some notes following the weekend’s contests
- Following a spectacular start against the Pittsburgh Penguins that earned him the first star, Jacob Fowler obtained his first career NHL loss on Saturday. The pattern of defensive errors came back to haunt the Canadiens after they took a commanding lead.
- After being in the press box for the matches in Pittsburgh and New York, Jakub Dobes got the start against the Oilers. Dobes made 27 saves, including five during a two-minute five-on-three penalty kill in the first period. It will be interesting to see how the team handles the goaltending duties going forward.
- Samuel Montembeault is the only one without a start since Fowler’s call up. Montembeault’s last start was on December 2, where he allowed five goals on 29 shots.
- Zack Bolduc kept building his point total on the road. His goal Saturday in New York was his seventh in 15 away games. At the Bell Centre, he has managed only two of his 14 points. Bolduc said on the TVA Sports broadcast that the difference in production is nothing more than coincidence. If he generated as much offence at home as his current production, there would likely be less questioning of the decision to give him time on the top line and power play unit.
- Adam Engstrom appears to have surpassed Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble in the organization’s depth chart. Prior to puck drop at MSG, St. Louis noted that he’s happy with all seven defencemen, however there’s no room for Xhekaj and Struble in the lineup.
- By obtaining two assists on Saturday, Lane Hutson set a franchise record for most multi-assist games by age 21 or younger with 20. Henri Richard held the record previously. He added another two assists on Sunday.
Rocket Notes
The Laval Rocket were at Place Bell for a three-game home stand. On Wednesday, Laval lost 5-4 in shootout against the Toronto Marlies (Maple Leafs) and won the rematch 5-2 on Friday in a spirited game. On Saturday, the Bridgeport Islanders (New York) came on top with 2-1 victory. This week, the Rocket head on the road to face the Cleveland Monsters (Columbus Blue Jackets) on Thursday and Saturday.
Here are notes from the recent games.
- Tempers were high as the siren rang for the end of the second period. Michael Pezzetta delivered a blind side hit to the head of Marc Del Gaizo. Florian Xhekaj took exception to the hit and dropped the gloves against the former Hab. The situation escalated at the conclusion of the bout when inexplicably the linesman guided Pezzetta in front of the Rocket bench instead of the penalty box or the Marlies exit. Laurent Dauphin cross checked Pezzetta and a huge brawl began in front of the home team’s bench.
- The incident had huge consequences for the Rocket. The AHL suspended Alex Belzile, Joshua Roy, and Dauphin three games each for leaving the bench to join an altercation. Samuel Blais received one game for the same reason. Pezzetta received three games for the illegal check to the head of Del Gaizo. The defenceman did not dress on Saturday with an upper body injury. The club did not provide any timelines on his absence.
- In anticipation of the suspensions, the Rocket recalled Riley Kidney, Joe Dunlap and Israel Mianscum at around 9am Saturday morning. All three were with the Trois-Rivieres Lions that had returned from Maine after 4am following Friday’s game. The league notified Laval at noon of the sanctions, three hours before puck drop against Bridgeport.
