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NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes
Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens were in Ottawa on Wednesday night, facing a Senators team that is eager to make up ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Moments prior to puck drop it was announced that Cole Caufield would be forced to miss the game due to a bout of the flu. Caufield was used sparingly in the third period of Tuesday night’s win versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Consequently, Alex Texier returned to the first line, playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky.

It should also be noted rookie Jacob Fowler was given the start by the Canadiens, and he was a big part of the youth movement that led to a 3-2 win. Fowler stopped 32 of the 34 shots sent his way to secure the victory, including an important series of saves to close out the game.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Strong Start

The Canadiens started the game on the right foot, resulting in Juraj Slafkovsky’s 24th goal of the year, just one minute into the first period.

It was Slafkovsky’s 164th career point, which is the most from a Canadiens player prior to turning 22 in franchise history. Some may suggest it’s an easy achievement since he started playing in the NHL as an 18-year-old, but it’s quite difficult to learn on the fly while playing in the best hockey league on earth.

Speaking of young players, rookie Ivan Demidov registered his 50th point of the season in the same sequence.

Senators Respond

Josh Anderson plays a rough-and-tumble style of hockey, which is guaranteed to come with a certain amount of time spent in the sin bin, but he’s made a habit of taking poorly-timed penalties this season, and to make matters worse, they’re almost always the epitome of unnecessary.

There’s no doubt the lack of consistency in officiating makes life more difficult on a player like Anderson, but the Canadiens simply cannot afford to be among the most penalized teams in the league, and there’s no ignoring the fact that Anderson is a repeat offender.

With that in mind, the Senators tied the game late in the first period while Anderson was in the box for roughing. It marked a turning point when it came to Montreal’s ability to control the flow of the game.

Habs fans will be quick to tell you that Tim Stutzle dives more often than a hen teaching her ducklings to hunt, but he’s a very good hockey player, and he absolutely loves playing versus Montreal.

He’s also supremely skilled, and does not need any help from his opponents to score, but the Canadiens still gave him a hand on Wednesday, with less-than-stellar defensive coverage, and incredibly soft clearing attempts.

To Alexander Carrier’s credit, despite the failed clear prior to Ottawa’s goal, it must be said the Habs forwards flew the zone instead of supporting their defenceman, or offering good outlet options.

Crowded Trios

You’d be hard-pressed to argue head coach Martin St-Louis has made a bevy of poor decisions this year, but his lack of enthusiasm for Texier is a little strange, especially since there are several players in the lineup who do not produce as much offence as the Frenchman.

Texier has done everything possible to earn his ice time, including some much-needed offence while dealing with a complete lack of consistency from a usage standpoint.

On that note, Texier tied the game for the Canadiens late in the second period with a very strong individual effort.

Cardiac Kids

With the game tied at 2-2, the Habs displayed fantastic speed in transition, one of the biggest advantages of having a smooth skater such as Alex Newhook in the lineup.

By scoring the go-ahead goal, which also ended-up being the game-winning goal, Demidov tied Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke for the most points by a rookie this season, with 51.

It also marked the 13th straight game in which the Canadiens scored at least three times.

The Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Saturday, facing the San Jose Sharks at the Bell Centre. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.

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By Marc Dumont
Marc has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for Journal Metro, The Athletic, The ... More about Marc Dumont

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