EDMONTON — Martin St. Louis debuted a new power-play unit for the Montreal Canadiens, swapping out Zachary Bolduc for Ivan Demidov for this big game against the Oilers in Edmonton Thursday.
Out Demidov went with Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson in the eighth minute of the first period, and they looked like they were just getting warmed up with the chances they mustered. They whipped the puck side-to-side, up and down, generating five shot attempts — and the type of momentum they probably felt theyâ€d have a chance to eventually capitalize on if the Canadiens continued playing the way they were playing.
They were playing great. They were in complete control of this game. And even after they lost it on a couple of bad bounces to fall down 3-1, they regained it immediately with three goals in less than two minutes of play to take a 4-3 lead to second intermission.
Shots were 21-14 Montreal at that point. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who were paired with Matt Savoie, were dominated at five-on-five by Jake Evans, Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, and a defence pairing of Mike Matheson and Alex Carrier, with the Canadiens controlling 66 per cent of the shot attempts in that matchup.
So, how did they lose 6-5 after going up 5-3 just 2:10 into the third period?
“Refs kind of took over the game there,†said Cole Caufield, “and kudos to them for winning it.â€
He scored a goal to tie the game 3-3 right before scoring another goal to give the Canadiens a lead going to the third and he was rightfully furious with how the game turned in such a lopsided way before it ended.
The Canadiens were called for three consecutive penalties, and Gallagher identified the first one as a boiling point for his team.
“Iâ€m going to be honest with you, (it) started with Slafâ€s penalty,†he said. “Talked to (the officials) after that one, they admitted it wasnâ€t a penalty, made a mistake.â€
The Canadiens forgave it and killed the penalty.
They werenâ€t able to do the same when Matheson went off for a soft tripping call in the 11th minute of the third period.
Draisaitl scored, and then Anderson was called for unsportsmanlike conduct — either for shooting the puck down the ice or yapping at the official for the call on Matheson.
It wasnâ€t clear to us, so we asked Gallagher what explanation was provided to him when he went to speak with the official about the call.
“Unsportsmanlike. He thought he showed him up. He didnâ€t. The fact that you donâ€t know what it is goes to show,†he responded. “Being an official, you have to understand the temperatures of the game, and thatâ€s part of it. You have to control it, especially when itâ€s a close game. We were outplaying them, outshooting them, however they were getting more power plays than us. We feel like we deserved some, we didnâ€t get them, so fine, weâ€re battling, weâ€re playing…
“(The Oilers are) really good players, they donâ€t need the help.â€
He also said the Canadiens could handle their emotions better, and surely Evans and Anderson, who was given a 10-minute misconduct for being unsportsmanlike with 1:10 remaining, would agree.
Itâ€s also fair to suggest the Canadiens missed on a point — and possibly two — allowing Vasily Podkolzin to score at even strength with 1:09 remaining. Their coverage slipped, and goaltender Samuel Montembeault shrunk in his net on the play.
He was slow to react to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins†shot to tie the game 5-5 while Anderson was fuming in the box, and it was anything but a confidence-inspiring third period for him after fighting through tough breaks over the first two periods and coming up with some timely saves.
As a result, Montembeaultâ€s wearing a 3.82 goals-against average and an .842 save percentage like a 100-pound weighted vest for a chest protector.
It might have felt a bit lighter had Montrealâ€s new power-play unit gotten in a few more reps Thursday.
Itâ€s perfectly valid for the Canadiens to be frustrated it didnâ€t, and for them to be demanding a higher standard of officiating.
It wasnâ€t up to par from Garrett Rank and Chris Schlenker on this night, and the Canadiens didnâ€t hold back on calling it out.
“The Oilers won tonight, but they didnâ€t beat us,†said St. Louis. “As coaches, we watch video and try to get better. I hope the league goes through the same process.â€
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