Jacob Fowler: Habemus Cerberus

But hey, let’s stay calm.

It’s just one game, on the road, away from a Bell Centre that seems to be making goaltenders and defenders quite nervous this year.

We’ll see if Fowler’s oft-quoted “mental strength” can reverse the unfortunate trend that has set in downtown..

The real test will be here.

One game at a time, sweet Jesus!

Speaking of defense…

I also liked Adam Engstrom’s game. We saw the defenseman at ease as if he were in Laval: mobile, intelligent, confident with the puck. He was clearly the best player in the pair he formed with Struble. And I don’t dislike Struble in general.

The other two pairs formed by MSL also did very well.

Matheson seemed to be running out of steam recently and Carrier had been tearing it up for a while alongside Xhekaj. Bringing them together on a second pair seems to me a pretty good idea, a lucid compromise.

For their part, Hutson and Dobson were worthy of one of the NHL’s excellent first pairs. Let’s continue the experiment.

Speaking of continuing the experiment…

Slafkovsky’s momentum continues to build. I really like the player we see and feel more liberated alongside Demidov and Kapanen.

We’re looking at a forward who could well be among the NHL leaders in puck-possession zone entries and exits, probably one of my favorite advanced stats.

These are two areas on the ice where it’s imperative to get it right to avoid getting scored on and to create scoring chances.

When he’s on the move, “the Big Guy” is hard to stop, and even has arather elusive side with the puck that seems to put opponents on their heels.

As for his vision, which many, including Simon “Snake” Boisvert, have repeatedly doubted in the past, we can now appreciate him even more in his role on this line.

Speaking of lines…

An unexpectedly excellent performance from Beck, Anderson, and Texier. Texier scored his first (well-deserved) goal for the Habs. It should have been the same for Beck, also with an excellent wrist shot, but Josh Anderson’s left foot decided otherwise at the blue line.

Of course, Tristan Jarry, the new Oilux, was a little disguised as the Canadiens’ bad goalie on Thursday night, but let’s not take credit away from Fowler and the Canadiens, who deserved to win the game against Crosby’s gang.

Now it’s Panarin and McDavid’s turn… and maybe Jarry’s!