It’s been a long time since the Montreal Canadiens offered free chicken wings to their fans. This is what he finally managed to do on Monday evening.
Posted at 9:50 p.m.
Updated at 10:57 p.m.
Josh Anderson and Cole Caufield amassed three points each in a 5-2 victory for the Canadiens against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Anderson, twice, Caufield, Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick blackened the score sheet for the Canadian (11-33-7), who at the same time signed a third victory in a row. A first in the regular season since May 2021.
Nick Suzuki also amassed an assist, which allowed him to become the first Habs player to reach 30 points this season. After the game, the Canadiens’ interim head coach Martin St-Louis made no secret that the chemistry between Caufield, Suzuki and Anderson brought back fond memories.
“At the time, I had Vincent [Lecavalier], Brad Richards, Steven Stamkos, three excellent center players. But I can tell you when I was playing with Vincent Lecavalier, I was a little bigger on the ice that night. […] It’s important that these guys [Caufield et Suzuki] know they won’t get hurt on the ice. What I like about Andy [Anderson], it’s his speed, his size and his talent. Tonight was a very good example of what this trio can do, ”said St-Louis in a post-game videoconference.
Ilya Mikheyev and Pierre Engvall scored for the Maple Leafs (32-14-3), who have suffered four losses in their last six games.
Since it was the second game in as many nights for the Canadiens, St-Louis sent goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault into the fray. The Quebecer was brilliant with 35 saves en route to a second straight win.
“Montembeault was excellent. They weren’t given a lot of space, I think. They came back to life for five or six minutes in the third period, but after that we calmed down and got back to playing,” summarized St-Louis.
His vis-à-vis, Petr Mrazek, looked “rusty” at times – he was only participating in his 10and game this season – and he finished the game having stopped 20 shots in front of the Leafs net.
The Canadiens will now host the Buffalo Sabers at the Bell Center on Wednesday night. Jeff Skinner had four goals in the last game between the two teams, which ended 5-3 in favor of the Sabers on February 13.
The return of the fans to the stands at the Bell Center seemed to galvanize the Canadiens early in the game.
After Pitlick’s failed breakaway early in the game, Anderson opened the scoring with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. Jeff Petry and Caufield were his accomplices.
Caufield and Anderson came back with 50 seconds to go, and this time it was the Habs’ No. 22 who found the back of Mrazek’s net. It was suddenly 2-0 in favor of the Canadian, after 20 minutes of play.
The Montreal steamroller – yes, yes! – continued his good work after the intermission by adding three more goals to the table.
Mrazek first looked bad on a tight wrist shot from Hoffman, just 38 seconds into the second period.
The Leafs goaltender thought he had stopped the bleeding by stealing a certain goal from Anderson halfway through the period, but the Canadian forward recovered nicely. Anderson netted the fourth for CH on a nice pass from Caufield, with 4:02 left in the period.
Pitlick added before the end of the second period, to make it 5-0.
Mikheyev and Engvall fought back in the final third, but the Leafs ran out of time to complete the comeback. St-Louis has at the same time reconnected with the threshold of respectability since taking office, by virtue of its 3-3 record.
St. Louis had kept the same lineup as in the last game, Sunday, against the New York Islanders. Only goalkeeper Andrew Hammond gave way to Montembeault against the Maple Leafs, who had defeated the Bleu-blanc-rouge 2-1 at the regular season curtain raiser on October 13.
Locker Room Echoes
Josh Anderson appreciates being able to evolve on a trio completed by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
“I’ve said it before, but when you can play with two talented players like them, as smart as them, and who are able to take good shots, then it makes things easier. I think we complement each other well; we all bring something different to this trio. Personally, I just try to stand out when they have the puck. […] We are still getting to know each other, but we are on the right track. »
Samuel Montembeault was quickly tested in the first period by the Leafs, which made a difference in his game.
“It helped me a lot; It gave me confidence at the start of the match. We knew they were a very good team on the other side, and I’m sure my saves early in the game also helped the guys gain confidence. Then we played well – we scored two quick goals in the first [période] – and after that, we didn’t look back. »
Cole Caufield has seen progress in the Canadiens’ game since the arrival of interim head coach Martin St-Louis.
“We play together, we play for each other and the energy level in the dressing room is very high at the moment. We’ve been playing well recently, even when we lost our first three games before this streak [de trois victoires]. But I love the way we play at the moment. »