Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Mathieu Perreault, Sami Niku, Mike Hoffman, Cole Caufield, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — Despite allowing the first goal of the night, the Canadiens scored six unanswered goals to go on to a convincing 6-1 win against the Red Wings at the Bell Centre. The victory snapped the team’s five game losing streak.
“We said that regardless of what happens, we were to focus on the way we do things, on our process, and at the end of the game we would look at the scoreboard to see the result. The guys stayed in that mindset,” Dominique Ducharme said after the game.
Five losses to start the season was mentally tough for the players, the coaches, and management. “I think it’s going to make us better. We don’t want to go back there. Nobody wants to have that feeling again. It was the longest 10 days. You going back home, you still have that with you, even though you don’t want to think about it, it’s right there. It’s not fun,” Ducharme shared. He feels that the team now understands the urgency and compete level needed going forward to collect two points in the standings.
Perreault Hat Trick
Matthieu Perreault was the first star in Saturday’s contest, registering a natural hat trick. It was the third time in Perreault’s career that he’s scored three times, including a four-goal performance with the Jets on January 13th, 2015.
The Bell Centre’s giant screen showed Perreault, after he scored his third of the night into an empty net. While the ice crew collected the caps that were on the ice from the crowd, the 19,706 fans in attendance chanted the forward’s name.
“I was just trying to soak it in. I was looking at the crowd and they’re all cheering my name, like this is all for me at the time. So just take it in as much as I can. This is something I may never experience ever again. I was just trying to take as much as I can out of it,” a smiling Perreault said post game.
“A guy from not-far from Montreal, grew up probably idolizing the Habs, what a moment for him and his family. I’m sure as a kid he dreamed of having Perreault chanted in the Bell Centre. I couldn’t be more happy for him, he’s a great guy, and a good teammate,” said Ben Chiarot about his current teammate, and former teammate with the Jets.
Ducharme knew Perreault back from the time when he was coaching the Voltigeurs in the QMJHL. Perreault skated with Ducharme’s team before he headed to NHL training camp.
The Canadiens coach reached out to Perreault this summer before the organization signed him to a one-year deal. Ducharme said that Perreault can fill different roles, similar to Paul Byron who is sidelined until the end of December.
Depth Centre Roles
On Saturday, Perreault centered the third line with Tyler Toffoli to his left and Cole Caufield to his right. Perreault started his career as a centre but was moved to the wing in Winnipeg following back issues. The Canadiens lack of depth down the middle forced Ducharme to use Perreault as a centre. Perreault is starting to feel comfortable again at that position, and won five-of-seven faceoffs he took on Saturday.
Ducharme credited the third line’s success against Detroit to transition from the neutral zone, attacking with speed, and net presence. If that trio continues to perform well, it allows Jake Evans to centre the fourth line. Right now, that’s the slot where Evans has the most chances of succeeding.
“They didn’t get on the scoresheet tonight, but I think they did a good job applying pressure, being hard to play against,” Ducharme said on the fourth line composed of Evans, Joel Armia, and Artturi Lehkonen. The coach likes that the trio does a good job keeping puck in the offensive zone, and creating momentum for the team.
Niku’s Impressive Debut
Sami Niku made an impressive Canadiens debut on Saturday, collecting two assists, and finished plus-three in 15:32 of ice time. Niku took Chris Wideman‘s spot in the lineup, and was slotted on a pairing with Brett Kulak.
“It’s important to keeping things simple, using your strengths. He’s got good vision, but doesn’t need to be complicated. On the power play, it needs to be well executed, high percentage plays, and on the defensive side, he’s a different defenceman than Chiarot or Savard, but he’s still a guy that can close quick using his stick, and making sure he’s separating the guy from the puck,” Ducharme explained his expectations prior to the match versus Detroit. The coach added that having a lefty on the point during power plays gives more options.
“It was my first real game in seven months. I needed to find my rhythm at the beginning, I felt better from the second period. I was confident, I knew I could have a good game,” Niku evaluated his performance.
Niku played 5:26 during the October 1st preseason match against the Senators before leaving the contest with a concussion. His last game prior to that was on March 1, 2021 with the Jets.
In Winnipeg, Niku never established himself on the team. It led to him and the organization to part ways over the summer. The Finland native will try to capitalize on this opportunity with the Canadiens. With the news that Joel Edmundson is scheduled to skate with the team when they return from their road trip, Niku needs to perform well to maintain his spot in the lineup.
Positives Before Road Trip
Montreal boarded a plane on Sunday to head to Seattle to face the Kraken on Tuesday night. The four game road trip will also take the Canadiens to San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim over the next seven days.
Saturday’s convincing win gives Montreal things to build on. “It wouldn’t have been a fun atmosphere to be around if we would have lost again tonight. I think it changes that whole aspect. The guys are feeling good, we can get that swagger back, have some fun the next couple of days, and get ready to go back to work once we land out west,” Mike Hoffman said.
Hoffman scored his first goal of the season, the eventual game winner, on a power play. It was the forward’s third game of the year, after missing the entire training camp with an injury.
Cole Caufield’s name appeared on the scoresheet for the first time as he collected an assist on Perreault’s second goal. The 20-year old played his best game of the season on Saturday, after struggling through five matches.
Ducharme met with Caufield on Friday, and Saturday to help him make adjustments, and become less predictable. “I found that he was attacking a lot, and getting to the blue line, and his feet stopped moving,” explained Ducharme.
Rocket Split Weekend Matches
The Rocket headed to the United States for the first time since the 2019-20 season over the weekend to play a pair of matches. On Saturday, Laval scored a pair of goals in the first and the third period, and blanked Providence 4-0.
“I’m really happy for McNiven. He made some big saves at the start of the game, ” coach Jean-Francois Houle said about Michael McNiven’s 29 save shutout. “The defence played well, we tried to keep them on the outside as much as possible. It’s a good road win. On the road, it doesn’t need to be flashy, just have to find a way to win the game.”
Gianni Fairbrother recorded his first goal as a professional hockey player. “He was really physical tonight, won a lot of battles on the boards and scored a big goal, and pinched on offence a couple of times,” the coach said about the Canadiens 2019 third round draft pick.
#Rocket Gianni Fairbrother scores 1st career AHL goal vs #Bruins
assists: Beaudin, Pezzetta@TheAHLReport @RocketSports #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/oYfkRY8oer
— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) October 23, 2021
On Sunday, the Rocket weren’t able to get any of their 37 shots behind as they were shutout by the Islanders 3-0 in Bridgeport. “We weren’t opportunistic today, we tried everything to score a goal, and it wasn’t easy to get to the net against our opponent’s big defence,” Houle said.
Laval’s power play has only scored once in 16 opportunities, with the lone goal scored during a two-man advantage.
“We moved the puck a little more, we got more shots on goal, but we weren’t able to score. Until we score, I think we’ll have to continue to try to find chemistry,” Houle evaluated the power play on Sunday.
Laval begins a three-game homestand on Wednesday, when the Toronto Marlies visit Place Bell.
(Quotes courtesy of 91.9 FM Sports)
Lions Looking for Win
After losing the first game in franchise history, the Trois-Rivieres Lions were looking for revenge on Friday night. The Growlers, Maple Leafs ECHL affiliate, took a 2-0 lead into the third period and went on to win 3-1 at Colisee Videotron. Arsen Khisamutdinov scored the Lions only goal of the night. The Russian native played 15 games with the Rocket last season.
ARSEN KHISAMUTDINOV, QUEL BUT!
ARSEN KHISAMUTDINOV, WHAT A GOAL!#LIONS3R pic.twitter.com/3qlMpmDELI
— Lions de Trois-Rivières (@Lions3r) October 23, 2021
Philippe Desrosiers, loaned from the Jets organization, stopped 18 pucks in his first start.
“I liked a lot of things that we did that we had analyzed during the day. As a coach, it’s good to see the receptivity of the guys,” head coach Eric Belanger told Le Nouvelliste about his team’s progress.
“Their goalie played well, but I would have liked to see more traffic in front of him. Our execution at key moments failed.”
Trois-Rivieres failed to capitalize on four power plays during the night, and are scoreless on eight opportunities through two matches. “Our power play was okay, but we have to start seeing a little more,” the coach added.
The Lions face the Growlers once again on Tuesday, before heading to Maine to face the Mariners on Friday.
Listen to the Canadiens Connection podcast
Current Habs topics were discussed on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen, share and subscribe!
By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2021 Rocket Sports
===