The Montreal Canadiens are finally back home after a successful road trip, winning three of five games. While the Canadiens returned from Ohio at three in the morning after a 4-2 win, the Florida Panthers were rested and waiting for a Thursday night game.
That’s a difficult scenario for a hockey club, and the Canadiens did lose their skating legs in the third period.
It was 1-0 after two, but the Panthers blew it open in the third, winning 5-1 with Jonathan Kovacevic scoring Montreal’s only goal.
Wilde Horses
With little offence to speak of, finding horses is a challenge, but there were a number of players that showed good spark.
Jesse Ylonen continues to be quite a surprising addition to the club. He had a chance in close again, and showed his outstanding shot. Ylonen’s release is rapid. His power on the shot is impressive. It feels like Ylonen’s progression has not peaked yet. He continues to get more comfortable, and also to have quality chances.
Talk about an excellent start in the career at the NHL level for Jayden Struble.
He’s only in his fifth NHL game and he looks like a veteran. Struble almost always makes outstanding decisions. He is smart in his own zone. He isn’t afraid to lead a rush. It’s not often that a player actually looks better in the NHL than in college, but it’s easier to believe in Struble’s NHL future in Montreal than it was in Boston at Northeastern University.
Good for Josh Anderson to keep working hard despite the frustration of being into the second quarter of the season, and still looking for his first goal. Anderson drew two important minors to help the Habs for four minutes to play with an advantage. He was hauled down on a breakaway, and it appeared like a penalty shot should have been called, but was not.
Anderson is the whipping boy of fans right now and that’s too bad, because he’s working hard and he has had plenty of chances. It’s also a shame because he has been around a while, and has given a lot to the organization being a part of big moments for the club when they made it to the Stanley Cup final.
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Juraj Slafkovsky has made so much progress this season. He is winning board battles often, and he is implicated much more in the play. He is making a big difference for his line.
The improvement is there, but occasionally there are moments when he refuses to stop deferring to more experienced players. It’s a natural weakness of most youthful players. They feel like the veteran should take charge.
On a 2-on-1 in the first period, Slafkovsky had miles of ice in front of him with Cole Caufield on the other side.
Slafkovsky carried the puck through the attacking zone. The defender watched Slafkovsky’s eyes as he looked at Caufield the entire time. He also watched Slafkovsky slow down to a near crawl.
The shot was all for the Slovak to take. The defender was all over Caufield playing pass. Slafkovsky had tons of time to pick his spot for a shot. There was no back pressure.
It was disappointing from a hockey perspective to see him pass the puck. Not ever in the entire process did Slafkovsky consider shot. The pass was absolutely not there. Naturally, it failed.
No one in hockey would suggest that was the right decision. No one. It doesn’t matter if Maurice Richard was on the other side; the pass was not available. The shot was all Slafkovsky’s to take.
It’s so bizarre because we are into the second season of this Slafkovsky NHL experiment at only 19 years of age and we still really do not know how good is his shot at the NHL level.
He has taken some shots, of course, but they are almost always hurried. Mostly, they are close-in shots. They are quick taps, or wrap-arounds. His goals this season were from in tight. They were flicks at the net, more than a power display from 20 feet.
There have been almost no occasions to see the former number one pick actually take the time that he has had to fire a snap shot picking a corner. His release is still too slow at the NHL level many times as well, and that has led to many blocks from quick NHL defenders getting their stick or body into the fray.
The scouting report heading into draft day was that Slafkovsky has a wicked shot. The opportunities are becoming common to take that shot to finally evaluate it in full. He has the puck on his stick. The touches are there.
Everyone is excited to see the results and the progression. Development is phases. First come the board battles to win. Check. After that comes more touches. Check. Third phase is shots, and the fourth is goals.
Fire it, Kid. We’re all ready for the third phase, and so are you.
Wilde Cards
The most significant moment of the contest came early in the third period. Alex Newhook tried to cut toward the net, and he lost his edge as he fell. His skate tangled into the twine of the goal and the twine did not give a bit, but it certainly looked like his ankle did.
Newhook was in a lot of pain. He could not put any weight on his left leg at all. Newhook had help to get to the bench, and when he finally arrived there, two trainers were needed, one under each arm, to help him get to the Canadiens dressing room.
It is difficult to imagine that Newhook doesn’t have a serious injury. One could clearly see the ankle bending the wrong direction, and combine that with an inability to put any weight on it whatsoever, Newhook could be absent for a while.
Montreal has already lost Kirby Dach for the season due to surgery on his knee for ACL and MCL ligament tears. Also out are Rafael Harvey-Pinard, David Savard, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, and Chris Wideman.
Season after season, the injuries keep piling up for the Canadiens in numbers that are far above the league average for man-games lost.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you Call of the Wilde on globalnews.ca after each Canadiens game.