We’re not sure how tickets are selling for the coming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in Montreal and Boston, although it seems seats at the Bell Centre are predictably ridiculously overpriced. And that’s not including the cost of parking, a hot dog and beer.
For what it’s worth, six players who will participate in the competition were on the ice Tuesday night — including goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Samuel Montembeault — as the Canadiens played host to the Winnipeg Jets. Hellebuyck will represent the U.S., while Montembeault was one of three netminders named to the Canadian squad.
Also on the ice Tuesday were Canadiens Patrik Laine and Joel Armia (Finland), Josh Morrissey (Canada) and Kyle Connor (U.S).
Our history lesson for the night: While Bell Centre spectators boo every time a Montreal player is checked, they do have long memories and never forget. So it came as no surprise Jets centre Mark Scheifele drew their wrath each time he touched the puck.
Scheifele, you might remember, hit Jake Evans with a vicious check following Evans’s empty-net goal in the first game of the teams’ 2021 playoff series, providing the Canadiens with a 5-3 lead. Evans was knocked out, concussed and had to be removed on a stretcher. He missed the remainder of the series — a Montreal sweep — along with the following round against Vegas, not returning until Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, against Tampa Bay.
Scheifele received a four-game suspension from the NHL. The two players came together Tuesday night with slightly less than six minutes remaining in the second period and exchanged words. Nothing else transpired.
Who picked up the cheque?: We’re told Laine and Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers, friends from Finland, dined together on Monday night.
News you need (Part I): The Canadiens, following this 4-1 defeat, have now lost three consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 9, when a 4-1 loss at Toronto was their sixth consecutive, dropping their record to 4-9-2.
News you need (Part II): The Jets started the season with 15 wins in their opening 16 games, only to come back to Earth since then, with a still commendable 20-13-3 record. Since Dec. 4, however, Winnipeg is 17-6-3. No wonder the Jets are running away with the Central Division.
News you need (Part III): Juraj Slafkovsky opened the scoring, 11 minutes into the game. His linemates, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, drew assists. That means the triumvirate, in the last two games, have accounted for three goals and seven assists. Montreal has scored four times in two games, by the way.
News you need (Part IV): The goal was Slafkovsky’s eighth this season, including his fourth in seven games. That matches his total over his first 40 contests.
Pass of the night (Part I): Suzuki, from behind the net, to Slafkovsky on the goal.
Best block by a guy without a stick: David Savard, in the game’s sixth minute, blocked a Mason Appleton shot.
Guess he didn’t see the yield sign: In the eighth minute, Winnipeg teammates David Gustafsson and Morgan Barron ran into each other in the Canadiens’ corner.
Quick start: The Canadiens enjoyed a 10-2 shots advantage midway through the opening period, prompting Hellebuyck to change sticks.
Where potential goals go to die: In the 15th minute of the period, Christian Dvorak had a good chance, only to see his shot go directly into the legs of defenceman Dylan Samberg. Wish we could state we were surprised.
My aching arm: Savard took the only penalty of the second period, but referee Dan O’Rourke had his arm raised on the delayed call for 49 seconds before a Montreal player touched the puck.
Pass of the night (Part II): Gabriel Vilardi, from behind the net, to Scheifele at 10:44 of the second period, providing the visitors with a 2-1 lead.
News you need (Part V): Shots in the period, at that point, were 10-0 for Winnipeg.
News you need (Part VI):Brendan Gallagher registered the Canadiens’ first shot, at 10:52.
Best move of the night: Late in the second period, Slafkovsky hopped over the boards, only to fall flat. At least he laughed.
Game of inches: Lane Hutson hit the post in the seventh minute of the third period.
Worst move of the night: It’s not bad enough Josh Anderson shot wide on his third-period breakaway, he then fell face-first into the boards.
No good news on this night: Defenceman Kaiden Guhle fell awkwardly in the corner in the last period, clutched his right knee and limped off the ice. The Canadiens later announced he suffered a lower-body injury and will require further evaluation.
Hit of the night: Barron took Kirby Dach into the stanchion late in the game.
Next time, decline the penalty: Winnipeg, which entered the game with the NHL’s leading power play (33.3 per cent), failed to convert three extra-man scenarios.
Quick stats: Gallagher had five shots. Both Caufield and Alex Newhook had four hits. Savard blocked four shots. Montembeault’s save percentage was .870.
They said it: “They’re a deep team, strong offensively,” Suzuki said. “I think we just didn’t have a great second period and the game got away from us. We missed on some good scoring chances in the third.”
“We have to be a bit more consistent, like we were before,” Montembeault said.
“We’ve played some of the best teams in the league competitively the last couple of months,” Gallagher said. “I thought as the game went on tonight they kind of took over. We weren’t able to regain the momentum we had early on. I think we gave them too much time in space. Shift after shift it seemed they were controlling the play.”