Canadiens Lineup

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Joel Armia

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Josh Anderson

Artturi Lehkonen – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Paul Byron

Jonathan Drouin – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Alexander Romanov – Jon Merrill

Jake Allen – Cayden Primeau

Brett Kulak, Erik Gustafsson 

Michael Frolik, Cole Caufield, Jake Evans, Xavier Ouellet, Charlie Lindgren

Brendan Gallagher (hand), Carey Price (concussion)

Game Report

The Canadiens came out angry. It started in the pre-game skate as Oilers forward Alex Chiasson was instructed that Montreal would be holding him accountable for injuring Carey Price. Post-game Josh Anderson said “I thought we all did a good job of letting [Chiasson] know that we’re coming out after they hurt our best goalie and best goalie in the League.”

Enforcing the code was taken on by Corey Perry. A decisive victory wasn’t necessary in the scuffle. A message had been sent. 

But it wasn’t an isolated message nor the limit of the Canadiens anger. The two teams combined for 43 hits in the first period alone. Montreal also outshot the Oilers 14-3 in the opening frame.

Of the forwards, Paul Byron was credited with seven hits, Joel Armia with six hits and Jesperi Kotkaniemi with five. It was Kotkaniemi’s hits that were delivered with force.

And on the backend, Ben Chiarot registered nine hits and Shea Weber had four hits. But that stat doesn’t tell the full story. Weber was beast in this game, punishing Oiler forwards, particularly Leon Draisaitl.

“They have some big bodies back there. They make it tough to get to the net,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Weber set the example leading his teammates into this playoff-style fight.

And with the tone set in the defensive zone, the Canadiens were able to push the pace, playing their kind of game in the Oilers zone. Montreal was relentless on the forecheck, played with intensity and even a touch of desperation.

Let’s add resilient to the descriptors of the Canadiens game. When Connor McDavid went in all alone scoring what could have been a soul-crushing goal for Montreal, Josh Anderson scored a beauty while driving to the net. Coming just 11 seconds after McDavid’s early second period tally, Anderson’s first of two markers on the night was a perfect reply and squashed any Edmonton momentum. 

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