3 Takeaways: Canadiens Played Comeback Kings To Win In Overtime

The Montreal Canadiens took on the San Jose Sharks for the last time this season on Thursday night at the Bell Centre.  It was Habs fans’ only chance to see first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini live this season, and he did create some scoring chances.

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Time To Give Montembeault A Break

There’s no doubt that Samuel Montembeault is still the Canadiens’ number one netminder, but there’s no point in keeping Jakub Dobes up if you’re not going to play him. After Thursday’s outing, Martin St-Louis has a great opportunity to give the youngster a start on Saturday night.

It’s not that Montembeault was bad on Monday, but losing track of the puck as he did on the first goal on being caught on the wrong side of the net and giving up three goals on 17 shots is hardly a stellar performance.

Furthermore, Kent Hughes needs to evaluate what he has in Dobes to know what to do with is goaltenders this Summer. Cayden Primeau will be a RFA this offseason, should he be retained? He’s been great in the AHL since being sent down, but the confidence he has when backstopping the Laval Rocket crumbles to pieces in the NHL. Should he be signed to a minor league deal?

To do that though, Hughes has to be confident that Dobes can handle an NHL job next season. Jacob Fowler is likely to be in Laval and see the bulk of the action, if he can handle the NHL, Dobes’ development might be better served by playing the second fiddle in the NHL than in the AHL.

Another Notch On The Captain’s Bedpost

Before this week, captain Nick Suzuki had never scored against the Carolina Hurricanes or the Sharks, that’s not longer the case since he found the back of the net in both duels. He finished his evening with two goals and an assist, his 12th two-goal game, but the chase for the first hat trick is still going.

With 60 points in 59 games, he’s on his way to his first point-per-game season and has been the driving force behind the Canadiens play this season. He may never be a 100-point-per-season kind of player, but he doesn’t have to be.

What he brings to the table defensively and his offensive contribution make him a real first-line center, simply because there is more to the game than points. The captain never takes a night off and leads by example in every facet of the play, on top of being very reliable in the faceoff circle.

– -Cole Caufiled to Marc Denis in his on ice interview  post game

A Night Of Firsts

With his assist on Suzuki’s second goal of the game, Lane Hutson notched his 40th assist on the season, by doing so, he became the first rookie blueliner to gather 40 assists in less than 60 games since Nicklas Lindstrom did it in 1991-92.

He’s also the third Hab rookie to get at least 40 assists in a season, behind Chris Chelios (55 in 1984-85) and Mats Naslund (45 in 1982-83).  With 23 games to play, it hard to see how he could not beat Naslund’s mark and he may even have a shot at Chelios’.

Owen Beck also got an important point tonight, the first one of his career. While that’s a milestone on its own, the way in which he got it was admirable. He was working deep behind the Sharks’ net and received a bone crushing it, but he didn’t falter. He kept going, passed the puck to Patrik Laine who passed it to Alex Newhook who scored.

After falling behind three times during the game, the Canadiens managed to pull off an overtime win thanks to a spectacular goal from Caufield. The diminutive forward easily got around Celebrini and showcased his silky mitts to score the game winner.

For a second game in a row, Josh Anderson had to leave the game and if I’m being honest, I think it’s time to protect him from himself here and make him sit out games. He’s fully accepted his role on the team and plays a spirited game, but he’s clearly injured and at this stage, he may just be making things worse. I know hockey players are a tough breed and I admire the devotion, but enough is enough.

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