The Montreal Canadiens weren’t going to be an easy prey for the Tampa Bay Lightning and even though John Cooper’s men took a 2-0 lead, the Habs didn’t even look worried.
Taking Less Penalties
At the time of writing, on the NHL Media site, the Canadiens are the team that has been shorthanded the most with 160 penalty kills. The Utah Hockey Club is 2nd with 151 and the Toronto Maple Leafs are third with 147, meaning the Canadiens are first and it’s not even close.
Of course, you can’t do anything against questionable calls and there will always be some, but you can do something about repeatedly taking high sticking calls.
Confidence Is Key For Slafkovsky
The former first overall pick didn’t have a great start to the season, but his performances of late have been fantastic. It’s almost as if he just realized how big of a frame he has and how much trouble he can cause other teams with it.
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Tonight, with the Canadiens down by two, the big Slovak was right by the net on the power play and he saw that Andrei Vasilevskiy was leaving the smallest of spaces open and instead of not daring to try because of how good of a goalie the huge Russian is, he went for it. He picked his spot and thread the needle without even batting an eyelid, that’s the kind of confidence we need to see from Slafkovsky.
It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
Not so long ago in a galaxy not so far away, a bunch of young players thought being down by two was the end of the world, it’s not the case anymore. These young padawans now know it’s not over until the final buzzer rings, no matter what happens between puck drop and the end whistle.
Even though the Lightning were dominating play in the third, Montreal did not panic and when they got their opportunity, they pounced and Jake Evans gave the Canadiens’ the lead for the first time of the game, the only time it really matters really, will not a lot of time left on the board.
Down 2-0 to 3-2 winners and in regulation, the Canadiens did it again. Tampa took 35 shots on net tonight, including 15 in the third, but Samuel Montembeault didn’t bend or break, he wants to keep his number one goalie title.
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