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Montembeault’s Weekend | Habs Notepad

Chris G
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Montembeault’s Weekend | Habs Notepad
Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Jake Evans, Samuel Montembeault, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky, Michel Therrien, P.K. Subban, Carey Price, Laval Rocket, Trois-Rivieres Lions

Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The Montreal Canadiens were in the state of New York for a pair of games over the weekend. On Saturday, the New York Islanders took a 2-0 lead 6:03 into the match and that was enough for them to collect the two points in the standings.

Nick Suzuki scored Montreal’s only goal and ended his 11-game scoring drought, while Jonathan Drouin collected his sixth point in last six games in the 2-1 loss.

Martin St. Louis gave a lot of credit to the opponents. “They brought some heaviness and some simplicity to their game early to go back for pucks and under pressure. It’s tough for anybody. They play a hard style. It’s good for the young guys to live that.”

The coach went with a formation with 11 forwards and seven defencemen for the game and for the final 40 minutes, St. Louis had to juggle with 10 attackers as Jake Evans suffered a lower body injury on the final play of the first period. No timeline provided by the organization on the duration of the forward’s absence.

Montembeault Key in Victory

On Sunday, the game was tied 1-1 between the Canadiens and the New York Rangers when Cole Caufield netted his 26th goal of the season with 11:04 remaining in the third period. The Canadiens held on to win 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

“I felt from start to finish that we were very engaged physically and mentally,” St. Louis said following the team’s first road win in nine opportunities. With the injuries and the short turnaround between games, the coach was happy with the players performance. “Before the puck drop, you have an uphill battle and I just felt that we came in and didn’t focus on all the excuses that we had not to give it our all.”

Sam Montembeault got the rare start in a back-to-back and was named the first star with a solid performance between the pipes. Over the weekend, he stopped 74 of the 77 shots he faced.

“I’m tired. My legs feel heavy. We have a day off [Monday] so I gave it everything,” Montembeault said.

“He earned it. Montembeault has earned all his starts this year. He kept us in the game [Saturday] and [Sunday] he made a huge difference,” St. Louis noted.

With a goal against the Rangers, Kirby Dach set a new personal record of 27 points this season, and is one goal away to tying his personal season high. When Evans went down with his injury, Dach was moved back to centre and was added to the penalty kill unit.

Juraj Slafkovsky did not finish Sunday’s game at Madison Square Garden. As he headed to the bench on his last shift during the third period, he appeared to be in pain. No update was provided by the organization following the game.

Therrien Bans Handshake

One of the highlights from P.K. Subban’s tribute on Thursday was when Carey Price stepped on the ice to conclude the ceremony with a triple low-five with his former teammate. The moment had the Bell Centre fans and everyone watching from afar roaring.

The handshake revived criticism against Michel Therrien for banning the celebration between Subban and Price after each team victory.

On Saturday, the former coach spoke about the decision made a decade ago during his segment on TVA Sports. “There had been changes before the season. The 2011-’12 season was extremely difficult. Marc Bergevin had arrived in Montreal and hired me as a coach. Later, I chose my staff. For us, it was necessary to change the culture of the team. We wanted to remove the individualistic side of each player and establish a team concept.”

Therrien is happy with the way that the players responded to the decision. “They were on board! And the individual honours came next. We went from last in our division to first. P.K. grew in the process. He became the best defenseman in the NHL that year. He won the Norris. In the end, I am very satisfied to have seen the team grow that much.”

Rocket Snap Losing Streak

The Laval Rocket ended a three-game road trip on Friday against the Syracuse Crunch. The score was tied 2-2 through 20 minutes before the Crunch took over with five unanswered goals and headed to 7-3 victory.

“It was difficult. We faced a team that was ready to play against us. We started the game well by scoring first, a good first period but in the second we didn’t have our legs and we’re starting to feel the effects of our trip,” coach Jean-Francois Houle told BPM Sports.

The Rocket was back at Place Bell on Saturday afternoon to host the Cleveland Monsters. Laval had a one-goal lead midway through the game when they scored two shorthanded goals in 27 seconds. The Monsters were not able to recover from that moment as the Rocket came out with the 6-2 victory. Alex Belzile recorded his first career hat trick in the win that snapped the four-game losing skid.

“Everybody was going pretty good. I liked our penalty kill. It’s been a challenge all year to keep the puck out of our net. We did today and scored two. I liked the way we moved the puck on the power play as well,” Houle said.

Saturday’s match kicked off the second half of Laval’s season. The Rocket are currently on the bubble of a playoff spot, but the coach has warned the team that they need to step up the performance.

“We’re halfway point through the season right now. We have to turn it around and we need to have a better second half. If we have a better second half we’ll have a chance. If we stay the same, we have no chance.”

Laval’s heads to Rochester to face the Americans on Wednesday.

Lions Can’t Win

The Trois-Rivieres Lions hosted the Orlando Solar Bears for a pair of games over the weekend. On Friday, the Solar Bears took a 2-0 lead 1:35 into the contest and never looked back as they headed to 4-1 victory.

“The effort is there, but it seems that we are still missing a little bit of it, both in terms of execution and details. We have good intentions, but that’s not reflected in the results. For the start of the game, there is no reason. We have to be ready when we jump on the ice. They are well prepared and the guys know what we ask of them. It becomes a personal responsibility to be professional and prepare accordingly,” interim coach and general manager Marc-Andre Bergeron said.

On Saturday, Trois-Rivieres had a 2-1 lead in the second period before allowing two power play goals to Orlando. The Lions were not able to tie the game and extender their losing streak to five games with 4-2 loss.

“It feels like we’re finding a way to lose. We took a bad penalty and it cost us a goal. We don’t play bad games, but it’s as if every mistake cost us a goal,” Bergeron said.

Trois-Rivieres is currently 11 points out of a playoff spot in the North division. The Lions host the Adirondack Thunder on Friday at Colisee Videotron.

(Quotes courtesy of Le Nouvelliste)

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By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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