(Montreal) The Canadian played with fire, but didn’t get burned, ensuring he wasn’t overshadowed by sensation Connor Bedard in his home opener.
Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist and the Montreal hockey club defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Saturday evening at the Bell Centre.
Bedard, first choice in the last draft, was held in check for a long time by the Habs. He finally picked up an assist on Tyler Johnson’s second goal late in the game, collecting at least one point in each of his first three NHL games.
“We defended well. We managed our zone entries well, we managed our play well in the offensive zone and we spent more time there. Then we stopped doing that in the third period, mentioned the head coach of the Canadiens, Martin St-Louis. We were less organized defensively. There was too much risk in our game in the third period. »
Seth Jones reached the post, then Nick Suzuki and Mike Matheson blocked Blackhawks shots during the last 10 seconds of play. The Canadian thus avoided reliving the scenario of Wednesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, when he had allowed two six against five goals to the opponent and lost the lead at the end of the match.
“It takes that to win and it’s going to hurt sometimes,” St-Louis said of the blocked shots by Suzuki and Matheson.
Cole Caufield and Tanner Pearson also scored for the Canadian (1-0-1). Samuel Montembeault made 28 saves.
“The way we practiced the last few days carried over into our game tonight,” said forward Josh Anderson. Everyone was engaged and working together and it led to a big victory. »
Johnson responded with a double for the Blackhawks (1-2-0), who were 0-for-7 on the power play. Petr Mrazek stopped 33 shots.
The Canadian lost the services of forward Kirby Dach late in the first period, when he was the victim of a hit by Jarred Tinordi and almost fell on the visitors’ bench.
The team simply announced that Dach was dealing with a lower-body injury. St-Louis said his state of health will be evaluated on Sunday.
The Canadian will play their next game on Tuesday, when they host the Minnesota Wild.
Advantage Montreal
After a simple player presentation, during which St-Louis was probably the one who received the warmest welcome, the Canadian put on his work boots.
He threatened on the power play, then Rafaël Harvey-Pinard hit the post shortly after the teams returned to five-on-five.
Bedard set the table for Tyler Johnson during a Blackhawks power play, but Montembeault made the save by making the splits.
The Canadian also threatened with a player less, Mrazek however frustrated Harvey-Pinard.
Caufield opened the scoring 3:54 into the second period. Mrazek stopped his initial backhand shot, then he hit the puck in flight behind the Hawks goalie.
Pearson doubled the Canadian’s lead at 7:56. Kaiden Guhle passed him entering the zone, then Pearson surprised Mrazek with a good wrist shot.
The Habs’ indiscipline could have allowed the Blackhawks to get back into the game, but it was instead the players from the home team who continued to threaten.
Harvey-Pinard once again came up against Mrazek during a breakaway while the Canadian was shorthanded.
“I lacked a bit of opportunism, but if I have chances, it’s a sign that I’m doing a good job,” consoled Harvey-Pinard.
Then during another penalty at the Habs, Harvey-Pinard launched Monahan on a breakaway and the latter managed to beat Mrazek on the side of the shield with 2:22 left in the second period.
Johnson revived the Blackhawks by scoring 35 seconds into the third period, when the teams were playing four against four.
Then, Bedard made a nice move a few minutes later during a Blackhawks power play. Montembeault closed the door by stretching his left leg, frustrating Lukas Reichel on the return.
Johnson took advantage of a scrum in front of the Canadian net to reduce the gap to a single goal with 1:21 remaining, and while Mrazek had been replaced by an extra attacker.
In details
And then, this Bedard?
The Montreal public gave Connor Bedard the treatment of a big star. From the first time he touched the puck, boos echoed from all four corners of the Bell Centre. And it continued on each of his next possessions. “I loved it!” said the young man at the end of the evening. Everything is more fun when the crowd is involved. » Overall, number 98 had a decent match, nothing more. “He had the puck all night,” remarked Corey Perry. Bedard has indeed stood out offensively – as evidenced by his 12 shot attempts – but the connection with his teammates is definitely not on point. It was especially obvious on the power play: more than once, his partners seemed confused to see him roaming the opposing zone in possession of the disc. Head coach Luke Richardson saw the same thing. “He still has to assimilate our team concepts, and his teammates have to learn to work with him. It has special qualities, so we have to find the best way to use them. » Bedard was the most used attacker of the two teams (22 min 40 s) and collected an assist at the very end of the match.
Dach falls in battle
” Not yet ! ? ! “, undoubtedly shouted tens of thousands of Habs supporters at the start of the second period when the team announced that Kirby Dach, injured in the “lower body”, would not return to the game. In the first twenty, the center player was hard tackled by Jared Tinordi, to the point of falling onto the Hawks bench. He spent a few minutes on the CH bench, with a member of the club’s medical staff near him to whom he seemed to be pointing at his knee. He then attempted to skate during a commercial break, but quickly limped back to the locker room. Dach missed 24 games last year due to injuries, and at only 22 years old, he already has a serious history in this area. To date, he has never played more than 85% of his team’s games in a full season. His case will be re-evaluated on Sunday, and we should know on Monday if he will be absent for a longer period.
Cozy ceremony
The organizing committees of the Olympic Games and the Super Bowl can rest easy: no one from the Canadian stole their ideas for the local launch of the 2023-2024 season. The pre-match presentation was indeed rather ordinary. A dynamic video showing off last season’s exploits was quite successful, but the player introductions were the antithesis of pacing. The players entered in four groups — the goalkeepers, the defenders, the attackers then the captain and his deputies. For long beats, everyone seemed to be wondering what to do in the middle of the ice. Arber Xhekaj and Cole Caufield received the loudest applause, but it was head coach Martin St-Louis who was cheered the most loudly. During the game, newly retired Paul Byron and the perennially injured Carey Price also received warm greetings.
Simon-Olivier Lorange, The Press