Top Line Dominates in Habs Win

Compared to the Canadiens’ first preseason game, the team played with a lot more jump throughout the entire lineup. The Habs got on the board 53 seconds in, when Suzuki started a play that he took into the offensive zone before finding the reigning Calder Trophy Winner, Lane Hutson, who passed it over to Caufield, who buried it to put the Canadiens on the board.

The Caufield goal gave the Habs some nice momentum that carried on throughout the whole 1st period. That line continues to be a thorn in the Flyers’ side all night long. They connected again for a goal late in the 2nd period, when Caufield fed Slafkovsky, who found a wide-open Suzuki in front of the net, where he scored the eventual game-winning goal to make it 3-1. Even though, they didn’t score another goal, they remained dangerous as they constantly got scoring chances. This line and Hutson are clearly ready for the season to start, and while it is preseason it is still nice to see them produce.

While Caufield and Suzuki scored goals, it can’t go unnoticed that the work Slafkovsky put in along the boards throughout the whole game. He seemed to come out of every battle with the puck. It may be a preseason game, but Slafkovsky looks like he’s on a good path to start the season if he can perform similarly to Tuesday night. Slafkovsky showed a little bit of everything throughout the game as he was flying on the ice with his linemates. 

There was a scary moment regarding Slafkovsky early in the 2nd period, when former Hab and now Flyers forward Christian Dvorak’s skate went up into the Slovak forward’s face. Thankfully, it only cut him low on the cheek, and he only needed a few stitches before returning to the game.

Florian Xhekaj put the puck past Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson to put the Canadiens up 2-0. Xhekaj, along with his linemates Tyler Thorpe and Luke Tuch, played a great game as a checking line. All players showed their physicality, and Florian even got in a fight with former Habs enforcer Nicolas Deslauriers early in the 2nd period.

Deslauriers ended up getting the best of Xhekaj in the end, but he was able to hold his own against one of the toughest players in the league. Florian finished the night just one assist shy of a Gordie Howe Hat-Trick. He was named the 3rd star at the Bell Centre for his performance (Caufield was 2nd and Suzuki was the 1st star).

Tuesday night was the first game that both Xhekaj brothers got to play in the same game with a Habs jersey, which was a special moment for the brothers. Like his younger brother, Arber Xhekaj also scored a goal as he iced the puck into the empty net at the end of the game. This preseason game was a great one for the team overall, but it was definitely a magical one for the two brothers and their mom, Simona, who drove in for the game earlier that day to watch both her boys play. Here is hoping there will be many more of those games down the line. 

On to the negative side, David Reinbacher bobbled a bad pass by Zachary Bolduc, which led to former Habs/Rocket speedster Anthony Richard stealing the puck for a breakaway where he scored on the first shot that Kaapo Kahkonen faced, after coming in at the halfway point of the game. Aside from that play both Bolduc and Reinbacher had pretty quiet games otherwise. In Reinbacher’s case, that is probably for the best, as he remained solid defensively for the most part, which is something that you would want from him. However, Bolduc being quiet is a bit disappointing to see.

As for Kahkonen, after allowing that goal, he looked really good the rest of the way. He allowed another goal on the power-play a little later on, but he managed to settle down for the rest of the game, stopping 10 of 12 shots. The biggest flaw in his game appeared to be his rebound control at times, but it was only his first preseason game, so we will have to see how he does with his rebounds as he gets more playing time.

Jakub Dobes was the other goaltender in the first half of the game, stopping all 9 shots he faced. He wasn’t tested much, but when he was, he stood strong in front of his net. 

As mentioned earlier, it was a quiet night for Bolduc; his linemates, Alex Newhook and Joshua Roy, didn’t do much to get noticed on the ice, especially at 5 on 5. For Newhook, he was most noticeable on the penalty kill as he attempted to shut down the Flyers’ offense. Overall, Newhook showed flashes that he could be a good penalty killer as he continues to get more reps in that role. It will be nice to see him continue to grow in that role.

The Montreal Canadiens’ next preseason game will be on Thursday at the Bell Centre against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 pm ET. 

What were your thoughts on Tuesday night’s game?