The goaltenders were the story in the Habs season opener. Sam Montembeault made 47 saves in an historic 1-0 victory on opening night.
Montembeault set a record for most saves in a season-opening shutout, and he’s the first Montreal goalie in 49 Years to earn a shutout in the season opener. The last one? Ken Dryden Oct. 8, 1975 when the Habs pummeled LA 9-0.
That 1975-76 Canadiens team was on a mission. They’d go on to win four straight Cups.
Is this Habs team on a mission? Perhaps a playoff mission. Shutting out a high-powered team like Toronto to open the season has to be a confidence builder.
Anthony Stolarz was outstanding in Toronto’s net. He kept the Leafs in it in the first period, as the Canadiens had tons of golden scoring chances
How often was the passing as crisp last season as it was in the opening period for Montreal? Everyone was in synch, and they had the Leafs on their heels.
Joel Armia looks better than he did at the start of last season. Two prime scoring chances in the first period – Stolarz had to be sharp to save both of them.
The power play was sharp in the first period – both units. Crisp passes, players moving to different areas…lots of deception, lots of chances. It paid off with Cole Caufield’s power-play game-winner on a tic-tac-toe pkay with Kirby Dach finding Juraj Slafkovsky, who sent a bullet pass to a wide-open Caufield, who buried it.
It was a different story in the second period as they resorted to standing around again, especially on the 5-on-3.
Marty St. Louis HAS to get Hutson out there on 5-on-3s. I get that he’s not on the first unit but that one is a no brainer.
If he doesn’t want to insult his 2023-24 assist leader Matheson by replacing him with Hutson, then make it Dach. Hutson is almost impossible to stop 5-on-3.
Hutson’s ability to fool opponents has not dissipated at the NHL level. We saw it in junior, we saw it in college, and we’re seeing it now. It’s not just in the offensive zone, either, and that’s what’s going to keep him in the NHL. He makes great feints behind his goal line to evade.
Kaiden Guhle was a rock defensively tonight. His goal was to get stronger in the offseason. It looks like he did just that. He isn’t getting crunched on the forecheck like he did in his first two seasons. All of that while playing 23:45 on his off side. He will be a stud defenceman for the next decade-plus on that blueline.
David Savard won’t be going anywhere if the Habs stay in the race, and he keeps playing like he did tonight. He is a great mentor for Hutson and a shot-blocking, crease-clearing machine. Hutson gets overwhelmed in his own end without the puck at times and Savard is there to back him up. The Leafs got a lot of shots, but not many were greasy rebounds, thanks in large part to Guhle, Savard, and Xhekaj. They kept the crease area clean for the most part.
I continue to be impressed by Alex Barre-Boulet. He hustles, sees the ice very well, makes a lot of smart plays, and won’t hurt the club when he’s in the lineup.
No points for Nick Suzuki tonight but he had a solid game away from the puck. He deserves credit for keeping the Matthews line in check. Matthews had back-to-back hat-tricks to start last season. Unless he pots six tomorrow versus New Jersey, he will be off to a slower start, and Suzuki gets a lot of credit for that. He stayed high in the offensive zone and down low in the defensive zone, sacrificing offensive opportunities to keep the NHL’s most prolific goal-scoring center off the scoresheet.
