Montreal Canadiens Sick Postgame: Habs Mistakes Do Them In

Here is your Sick Media Montreal Canadiens Postgame:

THREE STARS

1. Macklin Celebrini (2G, 1A, 6 shots)

2. Juraj Slafkovsky (1G, 1A, +2)

3. Nick Suzuki (1G, 1A, 4 shots)

CLUTCH: 

Macklin Celebrini took advantage of all the opportunities that he was given against the Canadiens on Tuesday night with his two goals and one assist. Each of the three goals that Celebrini played a factor in came from key errors that the Canadiens made. Celebrini’s  first goal came from intercepting a Jake Evans pass to put himself on a breakaway to open the scoring. His assist came off as a result of Xhekaj’s penalty, where Celebrini fed Toffoli in the slot for the tying goal. Finally, the game-winner came from Dobes’ costly overtime penalty. 

Juraj Slafkovsky was all over the ice against the Sharks, creating chances for both himself and his teammates. It was easily his best game of the season, despite the loss. His second period goal was an absolute highlight reel as he undressed both defenseman Darnell Nurse and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic before putting the puck in the net.

UNSUNG HERO:

Although the Canadiens blew their lead in the third period, they still got many chances on Sharks netminder Alex Nedeljkovic. With the Sharks down a goal and later tied in the third period, Nedeljkovic stood on his head to allow the Sharks to force overtime and ultimately win the game. Nedeljkovic made 30 saves in the game, including 11 in the third period when it was needed most. 

SPECIAL SAUCE: 

The Canadiens had a tough night in the special teams department, going 0-for-2 on the power play and just 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. 

THE BANGERS: 

Forward Zach Bolduc had four hits against the Sharks, leading all Canadiens players. Sharks forward Kiefer led everybody on both teams in hits with seven, followed by defenseman Jacob Trouba, who had five hits. 

SIN-BIN: 

Once again the Montreal Canadiens blew a lead in the third period, allowing the Sharks to tie the game. It is also the fourth straight game that the Canadiens lost the third period in general. This is a sign that the issue may not just be about holding onto a lead, but the Canadiens may be struggling to figure out how to stop the late pushes from teams in general. 

The main factor in allowing the Sharks to tie and win the game was undisciplined play at the worst times. First, Xhekaj received an extra two minutes during a scuffle with Sharks defenseman Michael Kesselring for getting baited into dropping his gloves, leading to the tying goal. Then, Dobes’ interference call on forward Collin Graf with Alex Newhook already heading up ice to give the Sharks a power play in overtime. The undisciplined play late in the game was what really cost the Canadiens against the Sharks. 

UP NEXT: 

The Montreal Canadiens will have two nights off before they start a four-game midwestern road trip on Friday night at 8:00 pm ET. They will then head to Winnipeg to play in the Heritage Classic on Sunday at 7:00 pm ET against the Winnipeg Jets.

HOW THEY LINED UP:

Forwards:

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky 

Chris Kreider – Alex Newhook – Josh Anderson

Alexandre Texier – Phillip Danault – Zach Bolduc

Kirby Dach – Jake Evans – Oliver Kapanen 

Defense:

Lane Hutson – Noah Dobson

Kaiden Guhle – Alexandre Carrier

Arber Xhekaj – Adam Engstrom 

Goalies:

Jakub Dobes

Jacob Fowler

For the best live postgame analysis of every Montreal Canadiens game on week nights, watch the Sick Podcasts Postgame with Tony Marinaro, Pierre McGuire, Marco D’Amico, and guests!