The Montreal Canadiens fell 3-2 to Los Angeles on stop two of their four-game road trip through the southwest of the United States.
The Kings were stymied for much of two periods, with Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen the difference maker. The Kings wound up beating Allen twice in third period however, with the Fredericton, N.B. puckstopper taking the loss despite stopping 30 of 33 shots.
The loss follows the Habs’ 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in game 1 of the road trip. For game 2 on Thursday, the Canadians faced off against the Kings, a more competitive team needing wins for a playoff spot.
Wilde Horses
Josh Anderson is quietly having an outstanding season for the Canadiens. He takes criticism at times for his decision-making in the offensive zone as he has an overly singular purpose of simply charging the net too often.
However, for the critics, one can’t really have a strong argument against the third-leading goal scorer on the team this season, behind only Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki.
On the power play in the first period, Anderson was in front of the net when a loose puck came to him to bang home from about three feet. That’s 18 goals on the season for Anderson — a good number on a team that doesn’t score a lot.
Anderson has played his best hockey of the year in the last two months. He is certainly making the case for his general manager Kent Hughes as he argues the value of his player to other GMs around the league.
Anderson is a big body who skates well and is a total team player. He plays a heavy game which is perfect for the playoffs. He could provide strong value to a playoff club.
Both of the Canadiens goalies this season have put together stunning stretches of excellence. Samuel Montembeault had a dozen-game stretch where his save percentage was over .930.
Now, it’s time for Jake Allen to shine. In his last five games before Thursday night, Allen had a .937 save percentage. That’s an outstanding mark that continued against the Kings. L.A. got off to a slow start, but by the midway point of the second period, they took over.
Allen then took over as well. Allen with 30 saves on 33 shots to keep Montreal in the contest. The Canadiens have two goalies in the top 20 in goals saved above expected. Only one other team can boast of this — the Boston Bruins.
The Kirby Dach trade has been the one Kent Hughes has received the most praise for as the Canadiens’ GM. However, the acquisition of Mike Matheson is almost as brilliant.
Matheson came from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Jeff Petry. Not only did the Canadiens gain six years of age, they actually also got the better player. Matheson has been outstanding when he has been in the line-up.
In Los Angeles, he was flying. Matheson was joining the rush in thrilling fashion, then skating so beautifully, he was actually so fast that when the puck turned over quickly, he was one of the two defenders back.
Matheson is also a hometown hero, and unlike Petry who wanted to get out of Canada, Matheson is thrilled to go from Pointe Claire to Montreal to continue his career.
Hughes has added Dach, Matheson, and Justin Barron. Two more first-rounders are to come from the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames. Five strong assets in a short amount of time is impressive work.
And it was a second straight excellent game for the newest member of the Canadiens, Denis Gurianov. In the first contest, Gurianov had four outstanding high-quality chances, but was unable to convert. In his second game, he took a pass from Matheson on the left wing and ripped an absolute rocket into the top corner.
You won’t see a more powerful and more labelled shot than Gurianov’s for his first in a Canadiens uniform. He reacted enthusiastically which is a good marker usually that a player is happy where he is playing and his head is in the game.
Gurianov was given 18 minutes of ice by a head coach who is hoping to find the player who was outstanding in the COVID-19 playoffs in Edmonton, helping to lead the Dallas Stars to the finals. If any coach can find Gurianov’s best game, it is Martin St. Louis.
Wilde Goats
It’s getting puzzling how well the Canadiens are doing with 10 regulars out of their line-up. In Los Angeles, Montreal had only one line with all NHL players. On defence, the Canadiens had four rookies. The Kings need wins to make the playoffs, yet they faced quite the challenge from the Canadiens.
Half of the Laval Rocket and the other half of the Montreal Canadiens should be getting blown out of these games. Instead, in the first period, Montreal would have been up three or four, had they been able to better convert their chances.
The Kings were on the back foot — as if they were the club with two lines from the American Hockey League.
This must be Martin St. Louis instilling a tremendous attitude. Nothing else makes sense. They should not be competitive. Many of these players didn’t even put up great numbers in the AHL.
It is exciting for those fans who like wins, but for those who want a high draft pick, it must be maddening. The top-five pick is all but gone already. If they keep playing as competitively as this, a top-10 pick will be gone too.
On one hand, that’s a shame considering the talent of the draft. On the other hand, these players performing so admirably now will only be better in years to come.
One sour note for the Canadiens there that there is potentially another significant injury. Justin Barron was hit hard into the boards and crushed his left shoulder. He sat at the bench for about 30 seconds in conversation with the training staff.
He then went to the dressing room for a closer look. He never returned for the rest of the night. It seems to be the year of the shoulder. Cole Caufield and Arber Xhekaj are already gone for the season with shoulder injuries. Here’s hoping Barron’s difficulty is not serious.
Wilde Cards
It is still quiet on the Kent Hughes front as the trading deadline approaches rapidly. The Montreal Canadiens general manager has until 3 p.m. ET Friday to find a market for some tough sells.
It just did not work out for the Canadiens this trading deadline as Sean Monahan and Joel Edmundson simply could not get healthy.
Monahan had a foot issue in November that has somehow turned into a mystery issue. No update has been given on Monahan at all, except when head coach Martin St. Louis said two weeks ago that his recovery had plateaued. No one really knew what that meant at the time. It seems to mean that he can’t get better.
Edmundson has also been somewhat of a mystery, though at least the club has given updates on his condition. Edmundson has been day-to-day for over a month. His back continues to plague him.
Edmundson went on the trip to California as management hoped that he could get a game in. Tuesday he took the pre-game skate, then was announced as unfit to play. Thursday they said he would be a game-time decision. Finally, he played. After five weeks of being day-to-day, the day finally arrived.
Whether anyone bites on Monahan or Edmundson, even with trading conditions attached, seems like a long shot, but the odds at least improved for Edmundson playing finally.
This leaves only Josh Anderson as a player who has a better chance to move than he has a chance to stay. Anderson has been playing tremendous hockey. It’s been reported that Hughes has already turned down a first round draft choice for Anderson.
Hughes is a very patient trader who seems to bite only when he gets exactly what he wants. He has time with Anderson. Hughes can trade him in the off-season. He can also keep Anderson until the next trading deadline when Anderson should have the same skill set as now, considering he is only 28 years of age.
It seems dismaying, but on the plus side, the Florida Panthers have not loaded up for a playoff run while their immediate competition has, so the Panthers pick could be in the top 15 if they do not make the post-season.
Vegas oddsmakers have the Panthers with only a 26 per cent chance of making the playoffs. The Canadiens are given a zero per cent chance, so Montreal will likely have two picks in the top 16 of the draft. That’s a big win for the rebuild considering the talent level of this year’s draft class.
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