This edition of the Hidden Game is dedicated to Seattle’s Brandon Montour — a player the Canadiens will be ecstatic not to see again before next season, if ever again.
The Kraken defenceman, 30, scored two goals — including the overtime winner — while adding two assists as Seattle rallied for a comeback 5-4 victory over the Canadiens Wednesday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Montour, signed to a seven-year, US$49.9-million free-agent contract last July 1 after winning the Stanley Cup with Florida, now has 15 goals and 36 points in 65 games. Kraken management undoubtedly would argue he’s worth every penny of the cap hit of US$7,142,857 he’s receiving this season.
Montour, you might remember, scored three goals and an assist on Oct. 29, 2024, when the Kraken scored on its opening two shots en route to an 8-2 drubbing of the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
Seattle won’t make the playoffs this year, yet outscored Montreal 13-6 in its two-game season series. The Canadiens, meanwhile, went 1-1-2 on their four-game road trip but could have, and should have, come away with more.
Where potential wins go to die: The Canadiens appeared to be in complete control slightly more than seven minutes into the third period after Juraj Slafkovsky scored his second goal of the game, giving Montreal a 4-2 lead. It was his 14th goal this season and his 100th career point.
Rookie debut: Finnish winger Jani Nyman played his first NHL game for Seattle after being recalled from the AHL’s Coachella Valley. The 20-year-old, a second-round draft choice in 2022, pulled the Kraken to within a goal with a power-play score midway through the third period.
Nyman has a great shot and is a dangerous offensive threat. He had 26 goals and 41 points with the Firebirds in 55 games, leading the team in both categories. He was third in the AHL in goals and first among rookies.
Guess he’s feeling better: Canadiens winger Patrik Laine missed the last two games with the flu, but dragged himself out of bed on this night. With Montreal trailing 2-0 in the second period, Laine scored his 15th goal, and 12th with the man advantage, slightly more than seven minutes into the second period, connecting from his patented spot in the left-wing circle.
Pass of the night: Laine, cross ice to Alex Newhook, slightly more than four minutes later, tying the score 2-2.
News you need (Part I): Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell, the NHL’s first full-time female coach, has been hired by L’Oréal Paris as its new Canadian ambassador. She recently filmed a promotional ad for the company.
Timing is everything: It was Joey Daccord bobblehead night in Seattle. The Kraken goaltender faced 25 shots for his 22nd victory in 45 games — and first win since March 1.
Milestone: It was the 600th career game for Canadiens winger Josh Anderson. While he failed to register a point, Anderson did deliver six hits and played a strong, physical game.
Giveaway of the night: Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes tried clearing the puck along the glass from behind his net. Instead, it was intercepted by captain Jordan Eberle, who passed to Montour for the opening goal, almost five minutes into the contest. It was one of three assists for Eberle.
Sleepless in Seattle: The Canadiens were playing their second game in 24 hours, while the Kraken had been idle since Sunday. Coincidentally, Mike Matheson had Montreal’s fifth shot with 13:08 remaining in the first period. The Canadiens then failed to register another shot before the intermission.
News you need (Part II): Of those five shots, only two came from forwards — Newhook and Joshua Roy.
About time: Brendan Gallagher registered Montreal’s sixth shot, finally, at 4:35 of the second period.
This makes sense: The Kraken has a minus-24 goal differential in the second period this season. Predictably, they were outscored 3-2 by Montreal in the second period.
And so does this: The Kraken has a plus-23 goal differential in the third period. All that means is the team usually is trailing heading into the third. Nonetheless, Seattle outscored the Canadiens 2-1.
This doesn’t make sense: The Kraken didn’t get their first shot in the period until more than nine minutes had been played. By that time, the home team trailed 4-2, and hardly looked desperate.
News you need (Part III): Rookie Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson was held without a point — a rarity — Tuesday night at Vancouver. But he produced two assists against the Kraken, giving him 51 points in 65 games.
News you need (Part IV): That was Slafkovsky’s 19th multi-point game of his career. Among Canadiens players with the most multi-point games before turning 21, Mario Tremblay is the franchise leader with 22. Slafkovsky, a former first-overall draft choice, doesn’t turn 21 until March 30.
Dumb penalty: It might have been accidental, but David Savard tripped André Burakovsky at 17:31 of the third period. Seventeen seconds later, Matty Beniers scored the tying goal.
Maybe he should have lost the faceoff: Christian Dvorak beat Chandler Stephenson to begin overtime, but the puck went back to Montour, who got behind Hutson, skated in alone and beat Dobes to the glove side after only five seconds. The entire sequence was bizarre.
Quick stats: Newhook and Slafkovsky each had four shots. Savard blocked four shots. Matheson played 27:46. Dobes’s save percentage was .857. The Canadiens won 52.8 per cent of the faceoffs and outhit the Kraken 23-17.
They said it: ”Without Dobes … we should have earned zero points with the game we played,” Laine told the media in Seattle. “If you play like that you can’t win. Everybody’s going to blame him for allowing five goals. Without him we’d have zero points.”
“It’s tough. We needed this win,” Slafkovsky told reporters. “It just sucks. We were right there and lost it in the end. I don’t even know what to say. We just didn’t secure the win and it sucks. We’ve got to win on Saturday (against Florida). There’s no option. We can’t lose more games like this, especially when we’re right there, up two goals.
“We can’t let games like this slip. We’ve got to win pretty much every single game until the end of the season. It’s nice to have (individual) points but winning tastes better.”
“I lost my check,” Hutson told journalists in Seattle. “If it’s not a set play, hats off to them I guess. He was moving before the puck dropped. I’m already out of the race. He got a head start. Obviously I’ve got to be ready for it. Good play by (Montour) I guess.”