Habs win 2-1 In Shootout Despite Sloppy Power Play

If anything, this preseason game showed how long it can take for players to get on the same page when it comes to being a power-play unit. Sure, the power-play unit will consist of Kirby Dach instead of Oliver Kapanen in the future, which should definitely help a lot. However, even at that, there were a lot of missed passes throughout the two 5-on-3s, which really destroyed any opportunity to really create anything dangerous on the top power-play. Dach, instead of Kapanen, likely wouldn’t have been the difference maker with all that being said. Nonetheless, it was the first preseason game, and all the NHL regulars should be able to clean up their game by the start of the season on October 8th, hopefully. The Canadiens may have walked away with the victory in the shootout, but it’s clear that there are still things to sort out before the start of the season.

Early in the game, the Habs ran into trouble penalty which led to the Penguins striking first when prospect Tristan Broz ripped a shot past Samuel Montembeault to open the scoring in the first period. After that goal, it seemed like the Habs were massively outplayed for the next period and a half before waking up in the 3rd period.

When the top NHL player in the Penguins lineup was Anthony Mantha, and the Habs had a duo like Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov in the lineup, winning 2-1 in a shootout isn’t really acceptable. However, since it is just the first game after a long off-season, the team will get some slack for their struggles. Laine and Demidov didn’t have their best games, but with the skill they both have, they should bounce back from their tough performance. 

Owen Beck was the player who got the Habs on the board as one of their power plays expired. It was assisted by Filip Mesar, who honestly had a really good game on Monday as he showed his speed and brought some physicality. Now, Mesar isn’t lucky to ever play in the NHL for Montreal after falling deep on the team’s depth chart, but if he continues, he may get more minutes in Laval or up his trade value as he’s still only 21 years old. The only reason Mesar will never fit in Montreal, no matter the situation, is that the Habs already have too many smaller players, and his skill set isn’t a good fit for the bottom 6 going forward. This year is Mesar’s last chance to show he belongs in the organization, and with games like tonight, he has a chance to prove it. His game earned him a chance to shoot in the shootout. He didn’t score but he made a good move. 

The scorers for the Habs in the shootout were Sean Farrell with a fluky bounce that went in, and Kapanen, who scored the game-winner. Despite being the replacement on the top line, Kapanen was arguably the best player on the line with Laine and Demidov on Monday night. Demidov and Laine had their flashes of brilliance but they couldn’t stay consistent.

The top performer of everyone was goaltender Jacob Fowler, who stopped all 13 shots he faced, including a few difficult saves to make, as well as stopped 4 of 5 in the shootout to secure the win. Montembeault also had a good night, turning aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced. In reality, it was goaltending as a whole that was the star of the game for the Habs.

What were your thoughts on the Habs’ first preseason outing?