Game Recap Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Unexpected Victory for New, Young Habs

A lot can happen in 10 months. The last time I wrote a game recap for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton had just been hired as the new liaison between management and owners. In a related move, Marc Bergevin had just been fired and his successor, former agent Kent Hughes, was weeks away from appointing his replacement.

In December 2021, Dominique Ducharme was still head coach, less than six months away from a Stanley Cup spot. In the lineup, Kale Clague made his first start after being claimed by the waiver wire. He was paired with Brett Kulak for that night. During the game, Jonathan Drouin scored a goal with his leg and Ben Chiarot was the team’s offensive talisman for the season.

So here we are after finally getting through a proper pre-season for the first time in three years. It was a preseason where the Canadians went all out to be winless, but no one – apart from Joel Edmundson – probably expected a lot more anyway.

In this first competitive lineup for the 2022-23 season, Martin St-Louis sent an intriguing mix of youth and experience, with first overall winner Juraj Slafkovský playing in the third row alongside veterans Christian Dvorak and Brendan Gallagher.

Among the other rookies, the Czech-Albanian-Canadian sensation commonly known as Arber Xhekaj was paired with Chris Wideman, while fellow rookie Jordan Harris partnered with Johnathan Kovacevic in the second pairing, in the very first of what could be many trials by fire for both of them Player. This particular pairing went into play last night with a combined tally of 14 NHL games.

One of the real bright spots of the preseason, 2020 first-rounder Kaiden Guhle also made his NHL debut, playing in the top pairing with strong senior David Savard. Jake Allen, fresh out of a contract extension, got the nod to start between the pipes.

Montreal got a couple of early opportunities to exercise their power play when Mark Giordano and Michael Bunting were sent into the box for unnecessary fouls in the neutral zone. There weren’t any goals to write home about, but at least there were some creative looks compared to the past few years.

The first goal of the game went to the visitors from Ontario instead. Mitch Marner did well to find the open space behind the Montreal net, and 27-year-old youngest Calder Trophy finalist Michael Bunting positioned himself in the slot to receive the puck and shoot it past Allen.

Less than a minute was played of the second period as the Habs tied the contest by one. Power horse Josh Anderson demonstrated his physical skills behind his own net to let his team win back the puck.

What followed was that Captain Nick Suzuki and his Deputy Sheriff Cole Caufield were sent on a two-man stampede against a poor, lonely TJ Brodie. Suzuki waited until the right moment to throw the pass across the ice and Caufield did the rest, whipping the puck into the net from a tight angle. The future pocket-sized Rocket winner looked relieved to have opened the scoring account so early, especially given his fond memories of last year’s season.

Toronto would regain their lead midway through the second third when Denis Albertovich Malgin landed in the right spot to hit an empty net rebound off the crease and open his account with the Maple Leafs. The Canadians’ defense seemed completely out of step with that goal, not knowing who was going where and who was marking for whom.

Some of the Habs disciples have progressed further than others. Last season, Cole Caufield had scored just one goal in half the season played. This year he only had two in the opening game, with the second being as important as it was pretty. Montreal’s number 22 captured the ball in the neutral zone and then wouldn’t let go of the puck. He showed pass for the Toronto defense until the last second, when he absolutely ripped the puck off a confused Matt Murray.

Before the end of the half, both teams had the best chances to go into the second break with a lead. For Montreal, it was summer signing Kirby Dach who let a puck dance on the goal line under Murray for so long that the umpires felt compelled to review the video.

On the other side of the rink, Toronto received a penalty when Alex Kerfoot was disrupted on a breakaway by Xhekaj. In the end, Allen emerged victorious from the duel and the game ended in a draw at two goals apiece.

As the third half dragged on with neither team making a breakthrough, I was struck by how this team – who had just gone a string of games without a win against teams like Winnipeg and Ottawa – were now facing one of the division- favourites. What’s particularly impressive is that they were now doing this with a handful of younger, inexperienced players taking on the tough jobs.

Slafkovsky had demonstrated his physical abilities on more than one occasion and, as befits an 18-year-old rookie, he always seems more comfortable at a higher level. Harris, Xhekaj and Johnny Kovacevic had decent season debuts at the back end, while Guhle looked like a seasoned vet when he first stepped onto the NHL ice.

The game continued to go back and forth with nothing critical happening in the first 17 minutes of the final third. And then, of course, everything exploded at once.

Montreal started with the first lead of the night. They did so shortly after successfully completing a large sticking penalty on Harris. Harris was actually the one who found Dach with a pass in front of the net that ripped Toronto’s defense wide. Dach forwarded the puck and another newcomer, Sean Monahan, had the pleasure of scoring the opener on his 28th birthday.

Of course, a Canadian victory never happens without constant swings between heaven and hell. Less than a minute later, William Nylander had ended the fight again with a goal that was as close to offside as you could get without actually being offside.

Everything seemed to be decided with a five-minute overtime, which in itself would be a pretty successful start to the Canadians’ season. but eyes on the price‘s Oracle editor Andrea Rowe wrote earlier in the evening, attempting to adopt my summary with sudden hostility, “The Habs are so lucky to have Josh Anderson.”

With just 19 seconds left, Captain Suzuki and his ice veins decided not to shoot at the fluttering Matt Murray, instead holding the puck for just a split second before handing it off to the aforementioned Anderson. With a right wrist shot, Josh the Powerhorse sent Bell Center into an unexpected frenzy as the Canadians battled for their first win since April 29th.

I believe it was Starship who once sang, “Nothing’s gonna stop us now.” Only time will tell if that’s actually the case for the 2022-23 version of the Canadiens.

At least we can stay happy until the Canadians play their next game which takes place at 7pm on Friday when the Habs take on their infamous Motown bogey team.