Habs Dominate The Sens On The Scoreboard and Physically

The Canadiens got right to work early, when Ivan Demidov started a play in the offensive zone, which led to Oliver Kapanen to open the scoring by beating Leevi Merilainen. Demidov didn’t get the assist on the goal, but he orchestrated the play to get the goal, so he deserves some credit for it. 

The line of Demidov, Kapanen and Alex Newhook had a great game together on both ends of the ice at 5-on-5. They provided a lot of chances for Merilainen and could have connected for a couple more goals. The line played a small role in Alex Carrier’s goal that made the game 3-0 Habs, as Newhook found Brendan Gallagher streaking into the offensive zone, who sent it back to Carrier for the goal. Gallagher had come onto the ice for Demidov, and from a great line change, the Habs were able to score.

Demidov’s best play was once again a cross-ice pass to Patrik Laine for a power-play goal that gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. These two may not work together at even strength, but they are such a deadly duo on the power play. With Demidov’s patience and passing abilities combined with Laine’s insane wrister, it will lead to many power-play goals this season.

Demidov also recorded another assist on the Lane Hutson power play goal that gave the Habs a 4-0 lead. Hutson’s improved shot has been one of the biggest storylines in recent preseason games. It will be interesting to see how many more goals the 2nd year defenseman will score this season as the team’s top PP QB. He is seemingly now a threat with his wrist shot, which will only make him better going forward.

Another player who really stood out offensively is Kirby Dach, who scored the Habs’ 5th and final goal in the third period of the game, and added the other assist on Hutson’s goal.

If there was any worry about his skating after his knee surgery, it should now be gone after he zoomed down the ice to stop a Senators 2 on 0 shorthanded chance after a tough giveaway at the blueline. Dach looked as if he had his fitness back from before his two knee injuries. It remains to be seen if Dach is completely back on the path he was on before the injuries or if tonight was a one-time thing. However, he’s not scared of getting in the middle of the play and doing what he needs to give the Habs a win. It may only be preseason, but tonight was a great sign of what Dach can be if he stays healthy this year.

Now onto the rough stuff in the game, starting with Florian Xhekaj. He got things started with a fight late in the first period, where he got the best of the Senators’ Jan Jenik and got hyped from the crowd after he finished his first fight of the game. At the end of the 2nd period, after Hayden Hodgson boarded Alex Newhook, Alex Carrier came in to defend his teammate, which eventually led to both Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble each getting into a fight that broke out after the whistle. Arber seemingly pummeled Senators’ Zack McEwen. Meanwhile, Struble’s fight with Jenik was based on his giving the Sens forward a cross-check in the face. Following this whole situation, both Hodgson and Struble were each given game misconducts. This whole situation gave the Habs a 5-on-3 power play that they weren’t able to capitalize on.

Later on in the 3rd period, Florian and Arber got into their second fights of the game. For Arber, it was less of a fight and more of roughing it up with McEwen yet again. Both players were also given misconducts along with 4-minute roughing penalties. Meanwhile, Florian fought Senators star prospect Carter Yakemchuk and received his 2nd fighting major of the game. He once again got the best of his opponent. 

Demidov received a brutal slash during the 3rd period of Tuesday’s game by Nick Cousins. He only played one more shift afterwards and was being evaluated on his wrist after the game. Cousins was given 2 minutes and 10 minutes of misconduct for the slash. Then, towards the end of the game, defenseman Donovan Sebrango jumped Kirby Dach, which luckily didn’t end badly, but it was dirty play that doesn’t belong in the game.

The Habs played a solid game and got under their opponents’ skin, which resulted in many situations where Habs players needed to stick up for teammates, where they managed to outmuscle the Sens in the end. Therefore, the Canadiens were able to win both on the scoreboard and in the physical department. Unfortunately, it may have come at the cost of an Ivan Demidov injury.

The Habs and Sens will conclude their preseason on Saturday night back at the Bell Centre at 7:00 pm ET. The game will be shown on RDS and Sportsnet.