After playing against two weakened opponents, the young Canadiens were tested tonight against a near complete Toronto Maple Leafs side.
If the Montreal Canadiens outscored their opponents 8-0 through two pre-season games, they realized tonight that it's a lot harder to play against a real NHL caliber side. After 20 minutes of play, the Maple Leafs had taken a 1-0 lead through a John Tavares power play goal.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens got a couple of power play opportunities during which they not only didn't score, but they didn't even take a shot. Granted, most of the players who were in the lineup tonight are unlikely to get any man-advantage time when the real action starts. Still, the penalized team should not take more shots than the one with the man advantage.
Montreal lost a lot of games by a single goal last season, and capitalizing on an opponent's mistake is the kind of thing that will help the team cut down that number of short loses. Needless to say making the opponent play when it takes an ill advised penalty like the Max Domi pointless crosscheck in the first, is an important part of the game.
The Canadiens' best player through the first frame was without a doubt Jakub Dobes. The goaltender made 12 saves on 13 shots and some of these saves weren't easy. It's refreshing to see a young keeper who doesn't drop to his knees too fast, The 23-year-old back stopper is 6-foot-4 and he knows how to make the most of his size.
The middle session was better for the Canadiens from an offensive standpoint, they took seven shots compared to the meager three they got on net in the first. Thanks to Alex Barre-Boulet's hard work, Montreal even got on the board after he dispossessed a Leaf and fed the puck to Christian Dvorak who easily beat Anthony Stolarz to level the score.
Lane Hutson was once again noticeable in the game, being as relentless as ever. However, for a second game in a row, he got a high-sticking call trying to catch up to an attacker, energy and tenaciousness is great, but he still needs to learn to control his lumber. Catching up to the opponent is fantastic, but getting called in the process makes it pointless.
His stick work wasn't all negative however as he displayed great hand-eye coordination to break up a play with it in mid-air which would have sent a player in all-alone on Dobes.
While Nick Robertson was able to put the Leafs back in front 2-1 after dispossessing Adam Engstrom, they would have been ahead by much more if it hadn't been for Dobes. The netminder was once again lights out, making a few spectacular saves including one on a breakaway and another on an odd-man rush. 40 minutes in, the Leafs already had 29 shots on goal and Dobes had a brilliant .931 save percentage.
Speaking of Robertson, for reasons unknown, in the first he attempted to give William Nylander a speed boost with a stick push which made him fall, straight into the legs of Dvorak, the Core Four member left the game and didn't come back, apparently for precautionary reasons.
It wasn't a good game health wise for the Leafs, on top of Nylander leaving, former captain John Tavares seemed affected by a Michael Pezzetta hit in the first and while he came back, he skipped quite a few turns in the last frame.
No goals were scored in the final frame, Matt Murray who had replaced Stolarz stopped the seven shots he faced while Dobes added five more saves to his tally, finishing the night with a .941 save percentage and earning the second star of the game.
The Leafs' NHL lineup put 34 shots on the Canadiens' net while the Montreal outfit only tested their goalies 17 times. Had it not been for Dobes' performance, this could have been a one-sided affair. He has really delivered tonight and there is no doubt in my mind as to who should be the top dog in the Rocket's net this season.
The young Canadiens now have a better idea of what a real NHL game looks like. Martin St-Louis' charges committed 21 giveaways tonight, it's quite hard to be competitive when you keep turning the puck over. They also struggled in the faceoff circle, the Leafs winning 62% of the draws. Oliver Kapanen lost 11 of his 13 duels, a sure way for him to realize he still has some work to do and some reps to get before he's a real NHLer.
Montreal will have a chance to avenge tonight's loss when they host the Leafs at the Bell Centre at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday night. Chances are the roles will be reversed with the Habs dressing a NHL-like roster and the Leafs giving a night off to many of their regulars, that's just how the pre-season goes.
