(Montreal) The result was the same as a little less than two weeks ago, but since the Canadian emphasizes development, he can console himself by saying that he looked better against one of the best teams in the NHL.
Quinton Byfield scored two goals and an assist, Cam Talbot stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Montreal club 4-0 on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
The Canadian also lost 4-0 in Los Angeles on November 25, but he was never really in the game. He had only taken one shot on goal in the first half, a long clearance from Mike Matheson.
This time, the Habs started the match strong, but lacked opportunism. Once behind in the score, they had more and more difficulty finding openings in the Kings’ airtight 1-3-1 neutral zone system.
“I think we played better,” said coach Martin St-Louis, comparing his team’s two performances against the Kings this season. But there are similarities. I didn’t hate our first two periods in Los Angeles. I really liked our first period tonight, but unfortunately we lost 2-0. We deserved better in the first half. »
The Kings broke an NHL record by winning their first 11 road games at the start of the campaign. The Buffalo Sabers set the old mark of 10 during the 2006-07 season.
“Normally we prefer to be humble about our accomplishments and talk about the next game, but I think this accomplishment shows how well this group plays,” said Kings head coach Todd McLellan.
“I’m proud of the group. The guys accomplished something special, but it’s only December 7 and there’s a lot of hockey left to play,” he added.
Samuel Montembeault made 38 saves in front of the Canadian net (11-12-2). It was the first time in 21 games that a Habs goalie got a second consecutive start.
Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist, while Trevor Moore also scored for the Kings (16-4-3). Anze Kopitar had three assists and Kevin Fiala, two.
Forward Michael Pezzetta was inserted into the Canadian’s lineup in place of Joel Armia. The latter had benefited from a day of treatment on Wednesday, but the team did not specify whether Armia’s withdrawal was linked to an injury.
The Canadian will play twice this weekend. He will first visit the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday, before hosting the Nashville Predators on Sunday.
An impenetrable kingdom
The Kings took control of the game by scoring twice in the first period.
Doughty made a nice move up the left wing and showed patience before surprising Montembeault at 8:13.
Byfield also scored with a great individual effort at 17:46. The colossus winger made fun of defender Kaiden Guhle’s coverage and then saw Montembeault take the bait on his feint. All he had to do was push the puck into an empty net.
At the other end of the ice, the Canadian didn’t have a bad period, but he was unable to take advantage of his chances.
“They have good players and play a good system,” said Montembeault. When they had chances, they took advantage of them. »
Sean Monahan hit the post on a power play, then Juraj Slafkovsky missed an open net following a cross-ice pass from Nick Suzuki.
Suzuki also hit the post early in the second period, after a fine individual effort from Slafkovsky.
The Canadian spent a lot of time in the Kings zone during the middle period, but Talbot didn’t really have to stand out.
Byfield dealt a hard blow to the Canadian by scoring his second goal of the game with 1:45 left in the second period, during a power play. Fiala’s stick shattered when he attempted a shot. The puck slid towards the net and Kopitar redirected it to Byfield, who was able to shoot into a gaping cage.
The Kings managed to stifle the Canadian in the third period, limiting him to four shots on goal.
“Once you get behind in scoring against a team like them, it’s hard to get through their trap,” Suzuki said. They made our task difficult to attempt a comeback. »
Moore scored on a breakaway at 7:58.
In details
A record night for the Kings
The Los Angeles Kings must have felt far from the sun and palm trees on this cold Thursday evening in Montreal, but once at the Bell Center, they felt comfortable. And not nearly: this clear 4-0 victory was for them an 11e in a row on the road this season (11-0-0), and with this triumph, the Kings become the first team in National League history to begin a season with 11 straight wins on the road. Previously, the club in black and silver shared the record of 10 straight road victories with the Buffalo Sabres, who previously achieved this feat at the start of the 2006-07 season. “We saw it during the third period, we were trying to get back into the game and I think we got three shots (four in fact), explained goalie Samuel Montembeault in the losers’ locker room. We tried to make adjustments in the second period, and they also adjusted immediately after. »
More shorthanded misses
It doesn’t get any better for the shorthanded Canadian. Quinton Byfield’s goal in the second period, on the power play, meant that the Canadian has allowed a goal in these circumstances in each of his last four games, and also in eight of the club’s last ten games. That’s not how you win Stanley Cups, we understand, and on this difficult Thursday evening at the Bell Center, the Kings were able to take advantage of their numerical advantage once in one occasion.
Again the 1-3-1…
Against the Kings, it’s not very complicated: it’s better not to fall behind at all, because otherwise, it’s pretty much the end of the shows already. Thus, the Kings have only lost once this season in regulation time when they score first, or when they have a lead after the first 20 minutes of play. “Their system of play is different,” admitted the attacking Brendan Gallagher after the match. Everyone knows that they play the 1-3-1 system of play, and that they will stay behind… We don’t see them that often, and what they do is different from the rest of the league , but I think that the other clubs in the league will eventually elucidate this mystery that is their playing system.”
Richard Labbe, The Press