Stanley Cup winners in 2018, the Capitals are nothing like a rebuilding team. They still have a desire for victories, especially with veterans who are not getting any younger.
See the highlights of this duel in the main video above.
In the morning, Peter Laviolette had launched his message.
“It’s unacceptable to open the season with two losses, we need to see a sense of urgency in our game.”
Without saying that he had fire in his eyes, like Maurice Richard, Laviolette bit his lip a little while talking about the importance of this match against the Canadiens.
Three quick goals
The Capitals made their head coach’s heart palpitations drop with their first win this year. Against a rebuilding team, the Caps won 3-1 on Saturday at Capitol One Arena.
The CH did not play an atrocious match. At the start of the second period, the visitors led 1-0. But the Capitals took the knockout. to a very fragile young group with three goals in just over six minutes in the second. Conor Sheary, Anthony Mantha and TJ Oshie in turn beat Samuel Montembeault, who was making his first start of the year.
“I felt good even if I was a little nervous,” said Montembeault. I hadn’t played for almost ten days. I liked my match except for the second goal. I can’t give away a goal on a shot that goes through me.”
A chance for Drouin
Jonathan Drouin has returned to training for this visit to the country of Alexander Ovechkin. He replaced Rem Pitlick on the left wing of the fourth line skating with Jake Evans and Mike Hoffman. Number 27 had an honest game on his debut.
“I didn’t have a lot of rhythm during the preparatory calendar, but I took advantage of a good week training, underlined Drouin. I spent time with Martin and the other coaches and I felt better tonight.”
After a victory in the inaugural game against the Maple Leafs, the Habs lost their next two games on opposing rinks. We predicted a difficult season. We already have a taste.
What we noticed…
Guhle in health
Kaiden Guhle was a dubious case for this visit to Washington. Corey Schueneman had been given time off from the reservists’ morning training in the morning to preserve his energies for the evening. But Schueneman never needed to play. Guhle kept his place on the left of David Savard. He gave up six hits, fought with Anthony Mantha late in the game, but finished the game with a -2 record.
Important minutes
“He’s 18, he must have energy.” That’s how Martin St-Louis reacted when asked if he had considered resting Juraj Slafkovsky due to a second game in as many nights. Slafkovsky hit the post in the first period, coming close to getting his first NHL goal. Used for less than ten minutes against the Wings, the Slovak exceeded the 12-minute mark against the Caps. “There isn’t a minute that isn’t important in this league,” recalled St-Louis. Each game has an importance in the result. Whether you play 5, 10 or 20, every minute counts.”
Premier point
Nick Suzuki stunned defenseman Nick Jensen with a quick fake behind the net before slipping the puck through Darcy Kuemper’s pads. For Suzuki, it was a first goal this season. But for Arber Xhekaj, it was his first NHL point. In his third game, the big defender will therefore have obtained an assist.
Always at zero
Alexander Ovechkin had an assist, but he still hasn’t scored his first goal of the season. He had hit the target in the first period, but St-Louis won his challenge for an offside. And at the end of the match, he hit the post in an empty net.
SUMMARY
THIRD PERIOD
Montreal Canadiens | Shots: 9 | Digital advantages: 0 in 1 | Hits: 3
Washington Capitals | Shots: 3 | Numerical advantages: 0 in 0 | Hits: 4
20:00 – Game over
19:59 – A scrum breaks out at center ice, Brendan Gallagher’s frustration palpable
FULL SCRUM TO END THE MATCH –
18:55 – Alex Ovechkin to a gaping cage in front of him and sends the puck straight to the metal rod
16:57 – Rookie Kaiden Guhle throws the gloves off against colossus Anthony Mantha, this is a first fight on the Bettman circuit for the 20-year-old defender
14:28 – Samuel Montembeault deprives Alex Ovechkin at close range
13:30 – Juraj Slafkovsky goes there with a nice breakthrough, his veiled shot is blocked by the back Trevor van Riemsdyk
11:06 – The CH comes close to threading the needle, the Suzuki-Caufield duo returns to the charge and Sean Monahan benefits from a free puck at the mouth of the net
09:56 – Evgeny Kuznetsov knocks out the knee in front of Kirby Dach, a golden opportunity for the Candians to reduce the score to one goal
08:23 – The tempo of the game fades slowly but surely
06:50 – Martin St-Louis’ troops are insistent in the third period, Kirby Dach fires a veiled shot, Darcy Kuemper is intractable
04:40 – David Savard directs a harmless shot that hits the post
03:59 – Josh Anderson gives himself space and rushes forward, his shot just misses
01:33 – Brendan Gallagher attacks Darcy Kuemper’s cage, doorman says no!
01:25 – TJ Oshie enters CH territory and draws without warning, the puck ends up on the metal rod
00:45 – Johnathan Kovacevic directs a floating shot from the blue line, Evgenii Dadonov gets insistent on Darcy Kuemper
00:00 – Start of period
SECOND PERIOD
Montreal Canadiens | Shots: 5 | Digital advantages: 0 in 1 | Checks: 11
Washington Capitals | Shots: 14 | Numerical advantages: 1 in 2 | Hits: 7
20:00 – End of period
17:42 – Alex Ovechkin’s band is everywhere on the ice, the CH’s numerical disadvantage is being manhandled
16:03 – Arber Xhekaj puts too much to the taste of the official on the place of Garnet Hathaway, direction dungeon
15:20 – BUT WAS 3-1 The Capitals are dominant and dynamic on the power play, TJ Oshie demolishes Samuel Montembeault and scores an unanswerable third goal for Washington
14:06 – Mike Hoffman serves a stick to John Carlson, first opportunity for the locals
13:11 – Prospect Jordan Harris throws himself full length on the ice and prevents the Caps to achieve a two-on-one attack
11:43 – BUT WAS 2-1 Anthony Mantha knits and deceives the vigilance of Samuel Montembeault, the wind has changed sides at Capital One Arena
MANTHA GIVE THE LEAD TO THE CAPS –
09:53 – Giant-size defender Johnathan Kovacevic takes it with a powerful shot from the point, Darcy Kuemper stays on ice
09:02 – BUT WAS 1-1 Conor Sheary redeems penalty by putting Capitals on the mark, Nick Jensen and Trevor van Riemsdyk get assists
CONOR SHEARY EQUALS THE BRAND –
08:28 – Nic Dowd and Lars Eller combine short of a man, Samuel Montembeault is brilliant on the streak
06:46 – Forward Conor Sheary trips Cole Caufield, a second power play opportunity for the Habs
02:01 – BUT MTL 1-0 Nick Suzuki skilfully maneuvers the puck behind the Capitals cage, mystifies the opposing defense and scores his first goal as captain of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, and that’s quite a thing. Rookie Arber Xhekaj also earns first National Hockey League point
NICK SUZUKI OPENS HIS COUNTER –
00:57 – Nick Suzuki is patient in puck possession, cuts to center ice and challenges Darcy Kuemper, unsuccessfully
00:00 – Start of period
FIRST PERIOD
Montreal Canadiens | Shots: 8 | Digital advantages: 0 in 1 | Hits: 7
Washington Capitals | Shots: 12 | Numerical advantages: 0 in 0 | Hits: 15
20:00 – End of period
19:47 – The Caps buzz in the last moments of the period, Samuel Montembeault watches over the grain and remains perfect in the first period
16:20 – Dmitry Orlov serves a solid check against Nick Suzuki, the captain of the CH gets away without damage
13:29 – GOAL WAS DENIED Alex Ovechkin believes to score his first goal of the season; Martin St-Louis challenges the offside call and the officials overturn the decision, the score remains 0-0
12:10 – Jonathan Drouin is sent into the fray on the power play
12:05 – The first wave of attack at five creates opportunities offensively, Caufield and Suzuki shine once again
11:05 – Defender Dmitry Orlov trips Kirby Dach, a first numerical advantage for CH in this duel
06:36 – Alex Ovechkin collects a loose puck at the height of the face-off circle and draws without warning, first chance to score for “Ovie” tonight
06:27 – Samuel Montembeault stands in front of the Caps attack, the doorman ignores the heavy traffic
05:05 – The newest first overall pick on the Bettman Tour, Juraj Slafkovsky is inches away from scoring his first goal in the National Hockey League
04:35 – Maverick Cole Caufield gets a good chance to score from his favorite spot, Darcy Kuemper makes a nice save
03:16 – Kirby Dach attacks Darcy Kuemper’s cage and directs a powerful wrist throw that tricks the guard’s vigilance, but misses the target
02:32 – Jonathan Drouin makes his first appearance on the ice this season, his line controls the puck in offensive territory without really creating any danger
02:21 – Brendan Gallagher is having a good start to the season, the little warrior carries the puck and directs a shot that Darcy Kuemper immobilizes with difficulty
01:50 – Forward Nic Dowd directs a first shot towards Samuel Montembeault, the Quebecer makes his first save of the 2022-2023 season
00:01 – The trio composed of Monahan-Dach-Dadonov is opposed to that of Ovechkin-Strome-Brown in curtain raiser
00:00 – Start of the game
Formations
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson
Evgenii Dadonov – Sean Monahan – Kirby Dach
Juraj Slafkovsky – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin – Jake Evans – Mike Hoffman
Kaiden Guhle – David Savard
Jordan Harris – Johnathan Kovacevic
Arber Xhekaj – Chris Wideman
Samuel Montembeault
In front of the net
Samuel Montembeault Record: 0-0-0 / Goals against average: 0.00 / Save percentage: .000%
Darcy Kuemper Record: 0-1-0 / Goals-against average: 4.14 / Save percentage: .862%