Habs Highlights: Dobes Great, Caufield Goal, Slafkovsky Benched

Offence Waking Up

We saw the Habs put up 40 shots, including almost 20 high-danger chances against the lowly Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, but thanks to Arvid Soderblom’s heroic effort, the Canadiens’ win streak ended at three games with a 4-2 loss.

It was the type of game that offered a frustrating result, but a solid process, which isn’t the worst possible outcome for a rebuilding team.

The Avalanche are obviously a much better team, a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, which meant the expectations were naturally tempered to a certain extent. The first period was controlled by Colorado, but from the midway point of the game it was the Habs who created the best scoring chances.

They also did a great job shutting down Colorado’s potent offence.

Their work paid off late in the third period, thanks to a smart defensive play by stalwart forward Jake Evans. He won’t officially be credited with an assist on the play, because Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki touched the puck before Caufield scored his 21st of the year, but it was an excellent play.

You’ll note Juraj Slafkovsky was not playing on the top line in crunch time. This is not a new strategy for Martin St-Louis, who still doesn’t trust the 20-year-old when the going gets tough. And if we’re being honest, it clearly paid off, thus was a good decision by the head coach.

I know fans are losing patience with Slafkovsky, and I understand to a certain extent, but remember, he’s just 20 years old.

With the game undecided in overtime, both teams headed to the shootout, where Caufield and Kirby Dach scored for the Canadiens, while Dobes did a fantastic job shutting down the Avalanche shooters to secure the 2-1 win.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Monday, facing the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET. All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.