Thereâ€s going to be some spillover from this one between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators — a fight-filled affair marked by flying fists and carelessly-wielded sticks soliciting 152 penalty minutes — and itâ€ll extend well beyond Saturdayâ€s exhibition-ending game at the Bell Centre.
The rivalry between these teams, which are separated by roughly 220 of the most boring kilometres you can drive in this country, has been percolating for a couple of years, and itâ€s now on the cusp of boiling over.
If that wasnâ€t obvious before coaches Martin St. Louis and Travis Green consulted with one another on lineup decisions ahead of Tuesdayâ€s game in Quebec City, it was undeniable shortly after the puck dropped at Videotron Centre.
You could tell the officials couldnâ€t wait to take it off the ice after handing out 10 major penalties and kicking five players out of the game.
The Canadiens struck first… on the scoreboard, that is.
Then things got really rough after they scored twice more to take a 3-0 lead. And they went from rough to ugly when Ottawaâ€s Hayden Hodgson took a late, reckless run at Alex Newhook and crushed him into the glass from behind with 3:07 remaining in the second period.
In the post-whistle scrum that ensued, Hodgson jumped Alex Carrier and started punching away, and then Montrealâ€s Jayden Struble got his stick up into Jan Jenikâ€s face before demolishing him in a fight while teammate Arber Xhekaj was laying a beatdown on Zack McEwen.
Shortly before the Canadiens made it 5-0 in the third period, Senators veteran Nick Cousins laid an axe blow to Ivan Demidovâ€s wrist. It was a flagrant — and successful — attempt to hurt the rookie sensation, who took one more shift before leaving the game for treatment.
St. Louis later characterized what Cousins did as completely unnecessary.
“Thereâ€s no need for that,†he told reporters in attendance. “Itâ€s an exhibition game; both teams are trying to get ready for a long season. I donâ€t think thereâ€s any need for that in the game.â€
That was after Kirby Dach called Donovan Sebrangoâ€s decision to randomly jump him and sucker punch him in the third period “not a hockey play,†and after Newhook had some choice words for what Hodgson did to him.
“Itâ€s hard not to say thereâ€s no bad intent there,†Newhook said. “If you look at the play, it felt like it was three seconds late. Backs turned to the boards, you see numbers. The guyâ€s talking a lot during the game, wanted to fight someone, and I think thatâ€s kind of a cheap way to show who you are, and thatâ€s all Iâ€ll say about it.â€
You would expect the NHLâ€s Department of Player Safety to have something to say about several things we saw in this game.
Weâ€re not sure Hodgsonâ€s hit will rise to the level of supplementary discipline, but Cousins†chop on Demidov will undoubtedly be reviewed, as will Strubleâ€s cross-check on Jenik.
Even if fines and/or suspensions are levied, the temperature of this rivalry isnâ€t about to cool off. These two teams have developed a strong dislike for one another, theyâ€re scheduled to play at least five more games against each other before next season, and both are trending towards being combatants near the top of the Atlantic Division standings for the next several years.
Itâ€s going to get nastier between them, perhaps as early as Saturday, when both teams presumably dress lineups that resemble the ones theyâ€ll take into the regular season.
Before we get there, we have some takeaways from Tuesdayâ€s game.
No. 91 is making this team
Thatâ€s the number worn by Oliver Kapanen, who is all but guaranteed to be sporting it in the Canadiens†opening lineup on Oct. 8, in Toronto.
He scored the gameâ€s opening goal, set a bunch of quality plays for linemates Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook, was responsible all over the ice and was particularly effective in the offensive zone, where he registered a game-high six shots on net.
Kapanen has had an excellent camp, and this game rubber-stamped it.
Likely cementing the 22-year-oldâ€s place with the Canadiens is the opinion St. Louis has of him as a player.
“I think Kappy will continue to get better offensively just with experience in the league and repetition,†the coach said. “If you watched him last year at this time versus this year at this time, his defensive actions were pretty much the same, but his offensive actions have come up a level because heâ€s more used to the pace of the league and heâ€s more accustomed to our collective game at five-on-five. I think you can put Kappy in any situation and youâ€ll see heâ€s very predictable. When I watch him on video, I know exactly what his next move will be. He plays with a very good predictability that makes him easy to play with for his linemates.â€
No. 92 is getting the message
There was no mistaking what St. Louis was doing by putting No. 92 with Nos. 90 and 62 for this game.
In placing Patrik Laine with Joe Veleno and Owen Beck — and taking him off a line with Demidov and Dach — he was sending him a message that his ice-time needs to be earned.
The good news is, Laine earned it.
He played with pace, he moved the puck quickly and decisively, he attacked space and freed himself up to get chances, he defended hard, and he basically did everything St. Louis hoped he would do in last Thursdayâ€s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After losing 7-2 that night, Laine said, “I feel like guys were, myself included, just sleeping a little bit.â€
He was in complete hibernation, doing nothing St. Louis wanted him to.
The coach’s decision to move Laine to a line with two players on the bubble of the lineup was a wakeup call on Tuesday, and the player answered it.
And Laineâ€s goal on the power play didnâ€t have anything to do with it.
He did that in Thursdayâ€s game, too, and it didnâ€t say all that much about his performance either.
What Laine did at five-on-five in Tuesdayâ€s game did, and itâ€s something he must replicate from now on if he wants to not only play higher up in Montrealâ€s lineup but also play in it at all.
“He played really well at five-on-five,†said St. Louis.
Laine must keep it that way.
No. 93 dominant, hopefully unscathed
St. Louis said he wasnâ€t concerned about No. 93, who was being evaluated by the Canadiens†medical staff during his press conference.
The coach wasnâ€t asked about it, but he had to be impressed with what he saw from Demidov on Tuesday.
The Senators allowed Demidov to touch the puck a lot in this game, and, once he got warmed up, it seemed the only way they could stop him was with a vicious slash to the wrist.
Demidovâ€s two assists only told part of the story. He also started the play that led to Kapanenâ€s goal — even if he didnâ€t get an assist — and the stuff he did without the puck probably also went unregistered.
But it didnâ€t go unnoticed.
Three sequences in the game saw Demidov charge in as the first forechecker, hit his man and steal the puck. That was a noteworthy part of a completely dominant game for the 19-year-old.
Provided Demidovâ€s wrist is nothing more than bruised, heâ€ll continue to ramp up towards delivering more performances like this as soon as the regular season begins.
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