NHL: Calgary Flames at Montreal Canadiens
Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Florida Panthers on Thursday night, looking to extend their winning streak to three games, and possibly finish the night as the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Alex Texier played the starring role for the home team, scoring a hat trick as the Habs emerged with a 6-2 win.

For the view from the other side of the rink, don’t forget to visit our sister site Florida Hockey Now.

Let’s dive into the highlights!

Trade Impact

There’s no doubt the Habs paid a relatively hefty price to acquire Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders, but if you ask general manager Kent Hughes, he’d probably suggest it was a discount given how well his prized acquisition has played since joining the team.

Dobson scored his eighth goal of the season to open the scoring on Thursday night.

All Vibes

I may want to stop reminding everyone that the Juraj Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov line produced poor underlying numbers when they were originally assembled. The good news is that they’ve improved that aspect of their play considerably in the last stretch.

In the short term, Kapanen is doing a fantastic job finishing high-quality scoring chances, and his play has gone a long way in helping the team’s position vis-à-vis the playoff situation.

Versus the Panthers, he took part in what I like to call a classic hockey goal. It started with Slafkovsky kicking the puck to Kapanen, who knocked it into the net with a modified baseball swing.

Just like they drew it up.

It was Kapanen’s 15th goal of the year, the best result from any first-year player in the NHL this season.

Blip On The Radar

Netminder Samuel Montembeault did a great job in the first 40 minutes of play, though it must be noted that he did allow a rather low-quality goal once the Canadiens took a 2-0 lead. That being said, all things considered, it was a solid outing from the veteran goaltender.

Allons Enfant De La Patrie

Alex Texier was starting to lose his love of the game while playing for the St. Louis Blues, that much is clear. His rejuvenation since joining the Canadiens speaks to the importance of keeping a healthy locker room in place.

Texier hasn’t just done a great job adding energy to the lineup, he’s excelled while playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the first line, which has given more runway for the Slafkovsky experiment on the second line.

In other words, this low-key signing by the Canadiens may be the glue that’s holding the charge up the standings together.

His fifth goal of the season gave the Habs a commanding 3-1 lead midway through second period.

Le Jour De Gloire Est Arrivé

Texier was not done there.

He gave the Canadiens a 4-1 lead in the third period when his pass attempt was quickly returned to sender.

Sure, there was some luck involved, but Texier displayed fantastic hands once the original plan fell through.

Terrible Call Of The Game

The questionable penalty of the night award was handed out when the referees decided to give forward Phillip Danault his second undeserved penalty in as many games. Fortunately, it did not have a significant impact on the game, as the Habs nursed their two-goal lead long enough for Slafkovsky to score an empty net goal.

Aux Armes, Citoyens!

To put a fine point on his excellent night, Texier went on to score his hat trick goal in the dying seconds of the third period.

While it’s true he lost his love of hockey in St. Louis, he’s clearly fallen back in love since arriving in Montreal.

The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the Detroit Red Wings. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

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

avatar
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

Tap Here To Add Sportsnaut As A Trusted Source on GoogleTap Here To Add Sportsnaut As A Trusted Source on Google