The Montreal Canadiens hosted the Los Angeles Kings at the Bell Centre on Thursday night and suffered their second consecutive three-goal defeat, 4-1.
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Although the home team opened the scoring with Justin Barron netting his first of the year, the Kings responded with three unanswered goals, including an empty netter, to pick up their second win.
Despite making 28 saves, including a penalty shot in the third period, Sam Montembeault lost for the second time this week. The Canadiens’ record after five games is now 2-3-0.
Let’s discuss three takeaways from Thursday night’s contest.
Canadiens Spoil a Gem From Montembeault
Montembeault’s season opener shutout will be a difficult performance to duplicate, but on Thursday night, he was by far Montreal’s number-one star with 28 saves. It sounds like a low number, but it’s not the shot volume but how he made those saves that is worth discussing.
On a sloppy defensive night, the Canadiens gave up numerous breakaways. Their worst infraction came in the third period when Lane Hutson hooked Kevin Fiala, who was awarded a penalty shot in a 2-1 game.
Thankfully, Montembeault was up to the challenge and made a save on his second penalty shot attempt, improving to 1-1 in the one-on-one showdown. Despite giving up three goals from the point, this loss is not on the goalie but the Canadiens’ inability to get the job done down at the other end of the ice.
Unable to Capitalize on Road-Tired Team
The Kings have yet to play a home game and came into the Bell Centre on a three-game losing streak. They were defeated 6-2 on Wednesday night in Toronto.
Los Angeles was just 1-3 this season and played four games in seven nights, all on the East Coast. However, on Thursday, the Canadiens were the dominant team in faceoffs, 59.3% to 40.7%, outhit the visitors 34-19, and picked up three extra takeaways 9-6.
Despite winning several statistic battles, Montreal ended its power-play goal-game streak by going 0-for-5 on the night and getting outshot by a veteran team 32-27. Ultimately, their little victories didn’t mean much on the scoreboard, even though the score stayed close until the last five minutes.
Unfortunately, the Canadiens lacked the killer instinct in the game and could not beat a netminder, David Rittich, who played the night before. He stood on his head with countless circus saves to defeat the home team psychologically.
Yes, We Need to Talk About Lane Hutson (Again)
Social media was divided after the Canadiens’ recent 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, in which Hutson was minus-4. Some complained he was overhyped, while others said it was just an off night for the 20-year-old rookie phenom.
On Thursday night, Hutson proved he can handle assignments against superstar players. Although former 40-goal scorer Adrian Kempe picked up an empty net goal, he was quiet all night, with Hutson as his shadow. One of the night’s top highlights was a modified hip check on Kempe, who cut into the slot and ended up on the ice with Hutson, who took him out of the play.
Moreover, he was on the Canadiens’ top power-play unit, and with the goalie pulled, he played most of the final three minutes, registering one of the team’s final shots. At the final buzzer, Hutson skated 30:05, the most minutes of any player, with the Kings’ Vladislav Gavrikov (28:00) the next closest.
With six assists in seven NHL games, it will be a special moment when he scores his first goal.
The Canadiens are back in action on Saturday in Long Island, where they will play Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders.
Canadiens & Kings Trivia Answers
How did you score in our Game Day Trivia quiz? Here are the answers.
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Éric Desjardins
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Guy Lafleur
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Rogie Vachon
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Mathieu Schneider
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Michel Laroque
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Vincent Damphousse
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Martin Ručinský
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Chris Chelios
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Jake Allen
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Marcel Dionne
Related: Canadiens & Kings Game Day Trivia
Related: Plot Thickens For Canadiens Prospect in KHL
Related: Canadiens’ Record Through Ten Games In The Past Decade
Related: 5 Fascinating Things To Know About David Savard
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