The top line scored three times for the Montreal Canadiens in a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night at Rogers Arena.
Juraj Slafkovsky led the way with a goal and two assists. Cole Caufield scored his 32nd goal of the campaign, while Nick Suzuki hit the 20-goal plateau for a fourth straight season.
Coach Martin St. Louis shook up the lines with Owen Beck sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket and Patrik Laine still out with the flu. The new second line consisted of Alex Newhook at centre with Brendan Gallagher and the newly recalled Joshua Roy on his wings.
There was a familiar face in the crowd: British Columbia’s own Carey Price.
Suzuki opened scoring at 1:06 with a highlight reel goal scored on his backhand while falling down.
That was followed by Slafkovsky beating Kevin Lankinen with a snipe at 8:34. It’s the type of shot Habs fans would like to see more of from the big forward.
In the second period, Caufield continued to rack up points for the top line. Slafkovsky started the sequence in the neutral zone by feeding Suzuki, and the captain eventually found Caufield alone in front.
Despite the score, there were warning signs. According to Natural Stat Trick, Canucks had 12 high-danger chances after 40 minutes compared to seven for the Canadiens.
The home team clawed back in the third period. The Canucks scored on two of their first three shots in the frame on Sam Montembeault. Defenceman Filip Hronek had the first through traffic. Montembeault never saw it.
Then on the power play, Elias Pettersson (the forward), also fired one through multiple bodies that the goalie couldn’t track.
With less than 10 minutes left in regulation, the Canadiens were only up a goal. Canucks coach Rick Tocchet pulled Lankinen for an extra attacker with less than two minutes to play, but Mike Matheson scored in the empty net as time winded down to seal a 4-2 win for the Habs.
Both Matheson and Slafkovsky’s goals were unassisted. In addition to scoring his sixth goal, Matheson played another minute-heavy game, just eclipsing the 27-minute mark.
Where do the Habs stand in their playoff push? They sit two points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Ottawa Senators won, so they’ve created some distance from the pack. The New York Rangers and Boston Bruins are tied with the Canadiens with more games played. It remains a tight race.
The game was arguably the opposite of the Calgary loss, where the Habs faltered in the early going and tried to muscle their way back. This time, they did their damage early and held on while the Canucks gathered steam.
Thanks to the Liveblog commenters who stayed up late for this one. They’ll do it all again Wednesday against the Seattle Kraken.
3. “1st line set the tone early for the game. Not the prettiest win, but a solid game and we got the much needed 2 points.” -Bob Taylor
2. “The canadiens are where they wanted to be, playing meaningful hockey being in the mix in mid March.” -Ryan Katz
1. “Huge game by the first line. Team bent but didn’t break. Starting to show some real maturity. Good first game by Roy. MSL showed a lot of confidence in him.” -Doug Kirkby