“It’s more pleasant to win than to lose. A simple statement perfectly described the mood after the Canadiens’ convincing 6-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Saturday at the Bell Center.
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Artturi Lehkonen, who is not a speaker at Fidel Castro, offered this reply after the match.
Lehkonen’s face was swollen, the result of a blow to the face of Tanner Jeannot, when he took his seat in the press room. Author of the first goal of the match, his first goal of the season, the number 62 had a smile on his face even if he still had blood on his lips. For once, he had the feeling of duty accomplished.
For the Habs, it was also quite a change of course after this horrible 6-0 setback against the Penguins.
“We were frustrated after the game against Pittsburgh,” said Lehkonen. We didn’t like our effort and wanted to bounce back. We had to learn from this defeat. “
Often asked to defend his teammates after a losing cause, Brendan Gallagher was also light-hearted. Like Lehkonen, Gallagher also hit the target against the Predators, scoring on the power play early in the second period.
“It feels good to see smiles on the faces of the guys,” said the number 11. I don’t have to explain it too long, but it’s tough for everyone this season. I just hope we can continue on this streak. “
The first since Theodore
There is Lehkonen’s first goal in 20 games, Tyler Toffoli’s three points (1 goal, 2 assists), Ryan Poehling’s two quick goals, but also the first victory in the CH uniform of Samuel Montembeault.
On his first start with the Habs on the ice at the Bell Center, Montembeault repelled 33 shots. Matt Duchene scored all three goals against him, all three in the third period.
With this win against the Predators, the 25-year-old signed the first victory for a Quebec goalkeeper since January 28, 2006.
15 years ago, José Théodore helped the Canadiens defeat the Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime in Toronto.
What we noticed
Twice in 37 seconds
Ryan poehling scored two goals in just 37 seconds in the second period. Both times he beat Juuse Saros with powerful shots, one on the wrists and the other on reception. After Poehling’s double, Saros put his mask away to make way for David Rittich. The Finnish goalkeeper gave five goals on 19 shots.
Eleven forwards
Dominique Ducharme is straining his brains to relaunch this broken down team. For the Predators’ visit, Ducharme opted for a formation of eleven attackers and seven defenders. For one evening, it was the right recipe. In the stands for the thaw from 6 to 0 against the Penguins, defender Chris Wideman returned to the group at the expense of winger Michael Pezzetta. Wideman added some punch to the offense with two assists. The number 20 was back at the forefront for the first wave in power play.
Rififi
There is no natural rivalry between Montreal and Nashville. But at the end of the second period, we thought we were in a duel against the Boston Bruins. Mathieu Olivier, who was playing his first game at the Bell Center, sought to wake up his teammates by starting a fight against Josh Anderson. Even before play resumed after this brawl, Mark Borowiecki and Nick Cousins shuffled Alexander Romanov, opening the door to yet another scrum.
The return of “Fix you”
In such a superstitious world, the Canadian risks reviving the classic Fix you from Coldplay for the entry of players onto the ice. After a start to the season where we could hear Bulls on parade of Rage Against the Machine as the first song, the CH recycled Fix you For the visit of the Predators.
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Drouin
There were several candidates like Lehkonen and Toffoli But the prize goes to Jonathan Drouin who played his best game since his return
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Caufield
Cole Caufield has a golden chance to restart his season with CH But the 20-year-old winger lacked his dynamism from last spring
First period
1-MON: Artturi Lehkonen (1) (Savard, Evans) 2:41
Penalties: none
Second period
3-MON: Brendan Gallagher (4) (Drouin, Toffoli) AN-3: 32
4-MON: Ryan Poehling (2) (Wideman, Lehkonen) 9:31
5-MON: Ryan Poehling (3) (Toffoli, Wideman) 10:08
Punishments: Olivier (Nsh) 3:23, Johansen (Nsh) 12:52, Olivier (Nsh) (maj) 18:56, Anderson (Mon) (maj) 18:56, Borowiecki (Nsh) 18:56, Borowiecki ( Nsh) (inc) 18:56, Dvorak (Mon) 18:56, Dvorak (Mon) (inc) 18:56
Third period
7-NSH: Matt Duchene (11) (Granlund, Tolvanen) AN-12: 53
8-NSH: Matt Duchene (12) (Johansen, Granlund) 16:27
9-MON: Tyler Toffoli (4) (Armia) 18:30
Punishments: Toffoli (Mon) 6:07, Lehkonen (Mon) 12:45, Chiarot (Mon) 13:14
Shoot to the net
NASHVILLE 15 – 11 – 10 – 36
MONTREAL 9 – 14 – 6 – 29
Guardians:
NASHVILLE: Juuse Saros (P, 7-6-1), David Rittich (at 10:08 am 2nd per)
MONTREAL: Samuel Montembeault (L, 1-3-1)
Numerical advantages:
NASHVILLE: 2 in 3
MONTREAL: 1 in 2
Referees:
Marc Joannette, Corey Syvret
Linesmen:
Brad Kovachik, Ryan Daisy
ASSISTANCE:
20 522
Artturi Lehkonen
★★★