The Montreal Canadiens were in Vancouver on Thursday night for a match-up with the high-flying Canucks.
If you missed the game due to the late start time, I can bring you up to date fairly quickly.
The Canucks were the better team, the referees had a very rough outing, and Juraj Slafkovsky earned yet another point during this difficult Western road trip.
Those who are keeping a close eye on the team’s Draft Lottery odds will be happy to know the Habs avoided adding any empty calories to their position in the standings during the 4-1 loss.
Let’s dive into those highlights!
False Start
Full marks to the Canucks for heading into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.
The Habs controlled the game early, but Vancouver had the better chances at 5v5, making it a deserved lead…to a certain extent.
Zebra Connection
Those of you who follow my recaps know that I hate blaming referees. It’s a very difficult job with a low margin for error given how many plays occur during a game.
Sport, by its very definition, includes human error. It’s why we watch. We need to do a better job of accepting that referees aren’t perfect, they’ll make mistakes every night. It’s one of the eternal truths in sports, and it’s doubly so in a fast-paced game like hockey.
But every once in a while, the referees have a direct impact on the flow of a game, and that’s where things get murky.
For example, the first-period penalty on Kaiden Guhle for interference was fairly soft, but you could still argue that there was some contact. It wouldn’t be a strong argument, mind you, but sometimes it’s best to err on the side of caution.
However, if you’re going to make wet-noodle calls, you better make sure to catch all the blatant penalties, like the elbow to Guhle’s jaw shortly before the Canucks scored their second goal of the game.
Sign Of Life
Habs fans know better than to expect a win every night.
At the risk of repeating myself, they simply don’t have the talent to match teams like the Canucks.
Midway through the second period it appeared the Canadiens were quickly fading away, heading toward a frustrating shoutout loss. They were playing relatively well, but they could not catch a break.
That’s when the youngest player in the lineup, Juraj Slafkovsky, decided to take matters into his own hands and offer his team a glimmer of hope.
The very nice deflection on the Cole Caufield point shot extended his scoring streak to six games while also pushing his projected season totals closer to 50 points (82-game pro-rated season).
As a fun aside, it should also be noted the goal horn went off when the Canadiens scored.
The reason?
There were so many Habs fans in attendance that the crowd noise fooled the goal-horn operator into thinking the Canucks had scored. That’s what happens when you have a passionate fan base that extends to every corner of the continent.
Segment 3
Segment 4
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday. They will face the Kraken in Seattle. The puck drop is scheduled for 9 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted. Via Natural Stat Trick.
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