(Buffalo) The Canadiens staff and the many Quebec fans who went to Buffalo for the rookie tournament did not have much to eat for a second meeting in a row, even if the result was different this time.
The day after a 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the hopes of the Habs defeated those of the Boston Bruins 4-1, Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter. Joshua Roy, Jan Mysak, Cédrick Guindon and Ty Smilanic, in an empty net, hit the target for the Canadian, in a match where no one really stood out.
Defender Logan Mailloux, the Canadian’s first choice in 2021, redeemed himself after a difficult performance against the Sabres.
The 20-year-old Ontarian played with more confidence than the day before. He even used his skating to escape in the first period, but he was unable to beat Bruins goalie Samuel St-Hilaire.
His blue line partner Jayden Struble, who did not play against the Sabers due to a constraint that delayed his arrival in Buffalo, also did relatively well. He made good restarts and wasn’t afraid to get physically involved along the ramp.
Montreal goaltender Quentin Miller had a solid game, stopping 26 shots. He also took advantage of the lack of opportunism of the Bruins players, who often missed the target on point-blank opportunities.
Several of the Canadian’s best prospects present at the tournament were left out for this meeting, including forwards Owen Beck and Sean Farrell, as well as defenders William Trudeau and David Reinbacher.
Roy, Emil Heineman and Filip Mesar once again had quiet games in attack. Roy nevertheless took advantage of a pass from Christopher Ortiz to widen the gap to 3-1 midway in the third period.
Trevor Kuntar scored the Bruins’ only goal. St-Hilaire made 22 saves.
The Canadian will have a day off on Sunday. He will complete his stay in Buffalo with a duel against the Ottawa Senators on Monday afternoon.