3 Takeaways From Canadiens' 6-3 Loss To Penguins

The Montreal Canadiens performed for the primary time on Amazon Prime on Monday night time, internet hosting Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on the Bell Centre. Sadly, the veteran-heavy guests picked up a 6-3 victory, discovering methods to get pucks previous a as soon as unbeatable Sam Montembeault.

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Though it is just one recreation and one loss, that is a kind of video games that individuals will look again on, particularly if the wildcard race boils down to those two groups, as one the Canadiens might have received, particularly in opposition to Tristan Jarry, who has been struggling in objective.

It is not that the higher workforce received on Monday; the extra skilled squad discovered their second to attain and deal with enterprise. Listed below are just a few noticeable issues from the newest Canadiens loss.

Montembeault is Human After All

Montembeault got here into Monday’s contest with an unbelievable .986 SV% and 0.50 GAA with an ideal 2-0-0 file. Though no goalie was going to maintain these statistics all through the common season, the 27-year-old had some humble pie in opposition to the veteran Penguins.

The Canadiens’ netminder was busy all night time, ending with 25 saves and a .833 SV%. Luckily, the visiting Penguins did not join on each shot previous Montembeault, as they hit the submit a number of occasions. Nonetheless, he was there to make key saves as the sport progressed, stopping it from getting out of hand.

In the end, with such a powerful begin, Monday’s defeat was only a bump within the highway. With the Los Angeles Kings on the town on Thursday, the de facto No. 1 ought to get an opportunity to play once more and bounce again from this efficiency.

Rising Pains for Hutson

By means of his first 5 video games, Lane Hutson revved up the gang each time he touched the puck, and Monday night time was no exception, because the Bell Centre obtained excited when he gained possession.

Nevertheless, for the primary time in his very younger profession, Hutson was minus-4 and on the ice for 66% of Pittsburgh’s targets on the night. Watching the competition on Amazon Prime, the digicam panned to Hutson each time the Penguins scored, and the teenager was trying as much as the jumbotron to relive the play that had simply unfolded on the ice.

But, one of many night time’s highlights was a chase for a puck between Hutson and Penguins legend Crosby. For perspective, the 20-year-old Canadiens’ defenseman was two years outdated when Pittsburgh’s captain made his NHL debut.

Monday was the primary of many occasions that followers will marvel at Hutson’s strikes however stroll away figuring out that he is nonetheless younger, and with that inexperience will come rising pains.

Canadiens Outplayed by Veterans

With out carrying out a drained narrative so early within the season, the Canadiens got here into the assembly with the Penguins because the second-youngest workforce within the NHL, whereas their opponents ranked because the second-oldest.

Contemplating that Montreal obtained three targets from gamers below 24, Juraj Slafkovsky, Emil Heineman, and Kaiden Guhle, nobody below 30 scored for Pittsburgh.

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They had been led by 35-year-old Lars Eller, who scored two targets whereas receiving extra lamplighters from Evgeni Malkin (38), Kris Letang (37), Kevin Hayes (32), and Rakell Rickell (31).

In a battle between two groups preventing for a wildcard spot for the subsequent six months, the veterans discovered a method to do what they’ve been doing for over a decade on the NHL degree: capitalizing on alternatives and exposing the inexperienced’s minor weaknesses.

As beforehand talked about, this efficiency was a one-off and a by-product of rising pains. The Canadiens will probably be hungry for a mulligan on Thursday.

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