We dedicate this edition of the Hidden Game to the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans.
The Metropolitans were the last NHA team to win the Stanley Cup. Seattle also became the first American-based team to capture the chalice, defeating Montreal 3-1 in the best-of-five series.
Given the fact Halloween is Thursday, we can only imagine the Metropolitans were reincarnated in the bodies of the Seattle Kraken Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
The visitors, held to eight goals in their last four games, somehow discovered an offensive elixir against the Canadiens, pasting them for an 8-2 victory. Seattle scored the winning goal at 7:27 of the first period, beating goaltender Samuel Montembeault on the first two shots he faced. The Kraken required only 25 seconds to open the scoring in undoubtedly Montreal’s most embarrassing performance this season.
Of course, with 72 games remaining, plenty of time remains for the Canadiens to set the bar even higher. Or lower. Take your pick.
By the way, the NHA was rebranded as the NHL in November 1917.
News you need (Part I): The Metropolitans, representing the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, exploded for 23 goals in those four games against Montreal. The offensive hero was one Bernie Morris, who scored 14 of them, including six — a double hat trick — in the series-clinching game. Perhaps the Canadiens should have had someone shadowing Morris, but Claude Provost wasn’t born yet.
Tuesday night nightmare: There won’t be any shots taken at Montembeault in this space. We maintain he’s an NHL-calibre goalie who has held the Canadiens in games over the last two seasons. But he was removed early in the second period after allowing five goals on 10 shots. Last Tuesday, Montembeault allowed four New York Rangers goals on 10 shots before being derricked. For what it’s worth, the Canadiens entertain Calgary next Tuesday.
News you need (Part II): The Canadiens were riding a two-game winning streak before meeting the mighty Kraken. Montreal failed to produced a three-game winning streak until late February last season. All three games were played on the road, Montreal defeating Seattle, Colorado and Philadelphia by a combined 11-3.
News you need (Part III): If those exorbitant prices owner Geoff Molson charges for tickets and parking at the Bell Centre aren’t bad enough, the Canadiens are now 3-4-0 on home ice. They never should have moved from the Forum.
What a difference a year makes: Not only did Montreal twice defeat the Kraken last season — 5-1 and 4-2 — it outscored Seattle 5-0 in the first period of those games. Four of those goals were scored at Seattle.
Go figure: Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann have carried the Kraken offensively this season, the two players combining for 11 of the team’s 28 goals before facing the Canadiens. Incredibly, neither player scored on Tuesday.
Next time, decline the penalty: The Canadiens went 0-for-4 on the power play, but did generate seven shots with the man advantage.
Hit of the night (Part I):Arber Xhekaj — who else — on Matty Beniers in the 14th minute of the third period.
Hit of the night (Part II):Juraj Slafkovsky, who denied it was a shoulder injury that forced him to miss three games, took Joshua Mahura into the Canadiens’ bench in the game’s final minute.
News you need (Part IV): It took 30-year-old Kraken defenceman Brandon Montour nine seasons to produce the first hat trick of his career. Montour, who won the Cup last season with Florida, had 50 million good reasons to sign a seven-year contract with the Kraken. He now has four goals and nine points this season.
He’s also worth every penny: Seattle centre Chandler Stephenson, signed to a seven-year, US$43.75-million contract, produced four assists against Montreal.
Move of the night: Early in the first period, Kirby Dach crawled laterally some 100 feet back to the bench after losing a skate blade.
Shift of the night: In the game’s sixth minute, Xhekaj channelled his inner Lane Hutson, only to be denied by goalie Joey Daccord.
News you need (Part V): Cole Caufield scored the Canadiens’ opening goal at 16:11 of the first period after the Kraken had scored four. It was Caufield’s ninth goal this season. He required 35 games last season to reach the same total.
Dumb penalty: Alex Newhook’s slash on Beniers at the Seattle blue line in the opening minute of the second period.
Momentum, schmomentum: It hardly mattered at this juncture, but 13 seconds after the visitors scored their eighth goal, Josh Anderson tallied for Montreal.
Quick stats: Dach was the clubhouse leader at minus-3, one stroke ahead of both Hutson and Logan Mailloux. Dach’s now minus-12 this season. Hutson logged a team-high 23:27. Mike Matheson was on the ice for 21:14 and produced four shots, as did both Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Montembeault’s save percentage was .500. Cayden Primeau, his replacement, came in at .769.
They said it: “Nothing I can say about it,” Montembeault said. “I’ve got to be better, stronger mentally, too, if I have a bad start like this. I need to stay focused and make a save. The team needed it when we have a bad start like that. I think I was maybe too much in my head going back in the second there. We didn’t play well and it starts with me.”
“It’s so frustrating right now, to answer all these questions,” Matheson said. “I don’t want to let my emotions say something tomorrow I’ll regret. Go through the course of 82 games and these are the only two ones and they happen to be close to each other. I’m never thinking about them again. It’s easy to magnify them right now.”
“You’re down 4-0 10 minutes in after we played two good games,” Suzuki said. “I’m just trying to move on right now. We were slow right from the start. We weren’t forechecking very well.”