Sam Montembeault got his fourth shutout of the season in a 4-0 win for the Montreal Canadiens over the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
He wasn’t exactly peppered with shots, but he stopped all 20 that came his way.
Juraj Slafkovsky and Patrik Laine came out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break with gusto against the Senators on Saturday, and they continued to heat up. Slafkovsky scored his second goal in as many games, while Laine had a goal and two assists.
Kirby Dach missed the game with a lower-body injury. Owen Beck took his spot centring the second line and did not look out of place. He recorded one shot in 11:52 of ice-time.
Has Slafkovsky finally turned the corner on his inconsistent third season? He opened scoring in the first period by deflecting Jayden Struble’s point shot past Frederik Andersen for his 10th of the campaign. Nick Suzuki got his 40th assist on the goal.
Before the end of the first period, the Habs scored on another deflection. This time, Alexandre Carrier’s point shot was tipped by Laine and a Carolina player on the way to the back of the net. Beck missed touching the puck by a hair. 2-0 Habs.
Laine often scores on the power play, but in the second period, it was his turn to feed Suzuki with a pass. The Habs captain beat the Carolina goalie, who was deep in his net, with a clean high shot. 3-0 Habs, and it erased the bitter taste of their failed 5-on-3 earlier in the period. It was, oddly enough, Suzuki’s first-ever goal against the Canes. Cole Caufield got his 200th career point on the play. He’s the fastest Hab to reach that point plateau in 30 years.
Not a lot of shots after 40 minutes: it was 11-10 in favour of Carolina. Montembeault stood tall when called upon, such as this save against Jalen Chatfield in the third period.
In the third period, the Habs added to their lead on the power play. Lane Hutson fired a shot from the point and although it looked like Slafkovsky might’ve tipped another one, this time the defenceman’s shot sailed through untouched by another Hab. Hutson’s power-play marker, the first of his career, extended Montreal’s lead to 4-0.
It wasn’t all good news for the Habs in the win: in the third period, Josh Anderson went face-first into the end boards with a full head of steam. He left on his own power, but gingerly.
The Habs beat the Canes for the first time since 2020. Yes, it’s been that long. It was a busy night in the NHL, and at the conclusion of the match, Montreal sat five points back of the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Habs brass have only four more games between now and the trade deadline to decide whether to go for it, stand pat, or sell off. The club has come out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break rested and hungry, likely giving management food for thought as they decide what to do with pending unrestricted free agents Jake Evans, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak and David Savard.
Evans and Armia only helped their causes by going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
It might also sway Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to see Laine light the lamp again. The Habs were at their best when the streaky scorer was red-hot, and after a cold spell pre-break, he’s looking dangerous once again.
But if they do decide to turn to the future, that could mean seeing more of Beck with the big club. He’s got a straightforward game that makes him seem pretty NHL-ready, but the Liveblog commenters think there could be untold offensive upside locked away in his unfilled frame.
Note: There won’t be a Liveblog this Thursday against the Sharks. We’ll be back on Saturday. Thanks for your understanding.
3. “After Slaf was told by both Kent and Adam Nicholas that he should probably play more like Brady, he had the entire Four Nations Tournament to watch and focus on BT. I have confidence that Slaf has figured it out. He knows what he needs to do. He did it on Saturday. Let’s hope it continues.” -Carin Latzel
2. “Good win by the Habs, helped with help from terrible goaltending by Carolina. That being said I believe we could have, or more likely, should have, won the last two games before the break, where I thought goaltending really let us down. So what goes around usually comes around. They played a solid defensive game tonight. Really good to see Laine with a good start after the break, he really needed it. Hope this is where we turn around from the bad streak before the break.” -Doug Kirkby
1. “Beck shows he has the speed for the NHL. Good hockey IQ at both ends. I’m ok with dropping Dach as a winger to the bottom 6 or replace Evans when he gets traded. Beck is much better at faceoffs.” -Mick Chow