NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Dallas Stars
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens faced the Dallas Stars on Sunday afternoon, the final game of an extended road trip that began before the holiday season.

It was one of the most encouraging games of the season for the Canadiens, who were led by their many young stars, including Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson. In the end, the Habs emerged with an important 4-3 overtime win.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Pucks On Net

It’s amazing what can happen when a hockey team decides to shoot the puck rather than stringing together a seemingly endless series of passes.

That’s not to say solid passing is a negative, but the Habs have a tendency to overpass, forgoing good shooting opportunities on a regular basis.

On Sunday afternoon, it was a simple point shot that got the ball rolling for the Canadiens, when Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher managed to catch a piece of Alex Carrier’s shot from the blue line.

Intensity Wanted, Apply Within

We’re at the midway point of the season, which means players should have found their rhythm by now. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case for Samuel Montembeault, who keeps allowing a bad goal almost every game.

On Sunday, Dallas’ first goal came after some lackadaisical defending by Noah Dobson, but more notably, weak tracking by Montembeault.

To Montembeault’s credit, he did bounce back in the dying minutes of the first period. This time around, he did a great job stopping a high-danger chance, a glaring weakness throughout the season.

All things considered, he played a crucial role in the game, stopping a dozen high-danger shots at 5v5, and saving the day on several occasions when the Stars took over from the exhausted Habs in the third period.

Resilience

The Canadiens let their lead slip away midway through the second period, as the Stars converted on the powerplay thanks to some excellent puck movement.

Fortunately for Montreal, their second line came to the rescue, via a great pass by Slafkovsky, and even better work by rookie Ivan Demidov.

If there’s one thing that has stood out during Demidov’s impressive freshman campaign, it’s his ability to open up precious ice in the offensive zone, by attracting as many defenders his way as possible before firing off a perfect pass.

Once again, Oliver Kapanen was the trigger man, scoring his 13th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2.

Power In The Play

Montreal’s much-improved powerplay offered the team a precious one-goal lead late in the second period, due to some excellent playmaking from the usual suspects.

Hutson, Nick Suzuki, and Slafkovsky combined for a great tic-tac-toe goal, putting a fine point on the latter’s performance on Sunday.

It may have been one of the best games in Slafkovsky’s career.

The Stars would go on to tie the game in the third period, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a very strong effort from a tired Canadiens team that has been playing on the road for almost two weeks.

It’s important to note the Stars absolutely demolished the Canadiens the last time they met, to the tune of 7-0.

American Hero

It was Hutson who would go on to play the hero role, scoring a fantastic overtime marker that secured another two points, making it one of the best road trips for the Canadiens in recent memory.

They banked 10 out of a possible 14 points, and almost certainly ensured they’re in a great situation to make the playoffs down the stretch.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Wednesday, facing the Calgary Flames 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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