The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators met on Tuesday night, resulting in yet another chaotic preseason game filled with injuries, fights, goals, and drama.
Despite the Canadiens outplaying the Senators, Ottawa emerged with a 4-3 due to Linus Ullmark’s excellent performance.
There’s a lot to get to, so let’s dive right into the highlights!
Making The Montreal Canadines Cut
Before we get into the shenanigans, I’d like to discuss the play of Alex Barre-Boulet. I know he’s not the most popular player as he’s not a longtime Canadiens prospect, but you’d be hard-pressed to argue he has not outplayed most of his competition for the last few roster spots. And yes, that includes Oliver Kapanen, who has faded away in the last two games.
I’m not saying Barre-Boulet is a game-changing presence, or that Kapanen will never be the better player, but for now, sending Kapanen back to the SHL while Barre-Boulet receives the lower ice time that will come with earning a job in Montreal seems like the best approach.
Of course, there’s a certain risk involved in writing about the game while there’s still a lot of time left to play. Once in a while, you’ll seem like a real dolt if you write about a player underperforming in recent outings, especially if they score late in the game.
On a completely different subject, here’s Kapanen’s goal late in the game to cut the Senators’ lead to one.
I’d also suggest Jayden Struble has been the best defenceman in the lineup that did not play for Boston University last season. If this is a meritocracy, Struble has earned his keep.
Even though Struble hit a wall midway through his rookie season, we have to be mindful about how taxing an AHL/NHL season is compared to playing in the NCAA. It usually takes a few years for athletes to adjust their bodies to a professional setting.
Regardless of where Struble ends up to start the year, given his skill set and his freakishly strong core, he’s putting himself in a great position to become a very useful player for the team in the near future. All he needs is a little more experience so he can continue to adjust to the speed of execution in professional hockey, but if we’re basing his value on his preseason play, that experience can be gained in the NHL.
Actual Goal Scoring Plays!
Jake Evans opened the scoring on Tuesday, though we have to give credit to Brendan Gallagher for forcing the Tyler Yakemchuk giveaway. Evans’ spot in the lineup is secure for now, but there’s no doubt he knows there’s a laundry list of prospects hoping to take his job in the near future. With that in mind, he was among the best Canadiens forwards against the Senators.
Habs fans watched Kirby Dach leave the game in the first period after a late hit by Ridly Greig, who has a PhD in Hockey Shithousery from the Claude Lemieux Institute of Elite Trolling ( magna claude loudly), but he did return to the game. More on that later. Dach ended up scoring the second goal of the game with a little help from the Senators defensive group that fell apart as Joshua Roy entered the zone.
Habs – Senators Shenanigans
Greig set the tone by hitting Dach late, but the concern regarding Dach’s health was all for naught, as he returned to the game after a short trip to the locker room. Consequently, the collective blood pressure in Montreal dropped significantly. Greig embellished on a later penalty by Dach (which was well-deserved, mind you), and you have to give him credit for sticking to his game plan, which is the hockey equivalent of a drunken raccoon getting into your garbage bins.
Greig did not answer the (many) calls to fight at that point in the game, and that’s when things went off the rails for the Canadiens. Arber Xhekaj decided to run Tim Stutzle, and though it was the Senators’ stick that led to the bloodied face, Xhekaj was rightfully given a major for interference.
The Senators would go on to score three goals during the ensuing powerplay. It wasn’t Xhekaj’s best shift, but it’s understandable the Canadiens are rather touchy since the Patrik Laine injury.
The Canadiens refused to leave Greig alone, with Dach forcing the frustrating forward to answer the bell late in the third period. To be perfectly fair, Greig was dead tired, and it showed. But to be even more fair, he made his bed and deserved the six-piece combo delivered by Dach. Greig was forced to retreat to the locker room following the fight, joining Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Thomas Chabot in the infirmary. This time around, it was the Canadiens’ opponent that lost talented players in a meaningless game.
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
Beyond the violent nature of the game, we must recognize the Canadiens failed to show any signs of life on both the powerplay and the penalty kill. Losing to the Senators is not a big deal, but failing to capitalize on chances is something that has plagued the team since the start of the preseason, or more accurately, since Andrei Markov retired.
It’s not time to panic, especially since the preseason has had no flow due to all the penalties and fights, but at some point the Canadiens will have to learn to defend a penalty or score on the powerplay.
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday. They will once again face the Senators, this time in Ottawa. The puck is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
