There was a matchup between a rebuilding team and a team that has reached the Stanley Cup Finals the last three years. If the Canadian beat a few big names this season, there were no surprises against the Lightning.
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The Lightning, the champions in 2020 and 2021, signed a 5-1 victory against the CH, Saturday, at the Bell Center. Brandon Hagel (two goals and one assist), Steven Stamkos (two assists) and Nikita Kucherov (1 goal, 1 assist) carried the attack on their shoulders.
We had been apprehending him for a few weeks. Without Brendan Gallagher, Sean Monahan and David Savard, three important leaders, the CH had to go through dark days sooner or later. This is now the case.
“Yes, we miss them, they are three important pieces of our puzzle and they played several games in the NHL, recalled captain Nick Suzuki. Hope they come back soon. But it’s up to us to play better. »
Falling
For the first time this year, the band at Martin St-Louis suffered a third loss in a row in regulation time.
This slide can also be read in the general classification. Also for the first time this year, the Canadiens will wake up eighth and last in the Atlantic Division with a record of 30 points (14-15-2) in 31 games.
“It’s not a good feeling, you never want to be last in your division,” defender Kaiden Guhle said. Now there is one thing we can do, which is to move up the rankings. We remain a motivated team, we want to win. »
zero in three
In this match, the CH has still not solved its problems in numerical superiority with no goal in three attempts.
Betting on a unit with five attackers once again in its first wave, the locals absolutely did not threaten Andreï Vasilevskiy with the advantage of one man by firing only two shots. The Lightning were more dangerous with four shorthanded shots.
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Christian Dvorak
There is Kaiden Guhle who made a superb pass on Nick Suzuki’s goal, but the title of the most deserving goes to Dvorak The number 28 gave his coach precious minutes on the penalty kill, in addition to winning the majority of his face-offs (58)
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Josh Anderson
Zero shots, zero shots attempted, an inaccurate pass to Suzuki, who was lucky to escape, and an unnecessary penalty Here’s a quick summary of Anderson’s game Yes, he has the speed and the physicality, but he never managed to become a good supplement for Suzuki and Caufield
First period
1-TB: Brandon Hagel (11)
(Cole, Cernak)2:57
2-TB: Nicholas Paul (13)
(Perbix, Stamkos)11:39
Penalties: Xhekaj (Mon) (shift) 4:52, Maroon (TB) (shift) 4:52, Foote (TB) 8:10, Pitlick (Mon) 17:55
Second period
3-TB: Anthony Cirelli (1)
(Perry, Kucherov) AN-9:26
4-TB: Brandon Hagel (12)
(Hedman, Stamkos)AN-17:47
Penalties: Bench penalty (Mon) (served by Drouin) 1:30, Foote (TB) 5:02, Matheson (Mon) 7:20, Evans (Mon) (double min) 8:46, Cernak (TB) 14 :05, Slafkovsky (Mon) 15:46, Paul (TB) 15:46, Anderson (Mon) 17:41
Third period
5-MON: Nick Suzuki (15)
(Good)0:16
6-TB: Nikita Kucherov (12)
(Hagel)18:01
Penalties: none
Shoot to the net
TAMPA BAY 11 – 12 – 4 – 27MONTRÉAL 14 – 4 – 5 – 23
Guardians:
Goalkeepers: TB: Andrei Vasilevskiy (G, 13-8-1) MON: Jake Allen (P, 9-12-0)
Numerical advantages:
TB: 2 in 6, MON: 0 in 3
Referees:
Kevin Pollock, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen:
Matt MacPherson, Mark Shewchyk
ASSISTANCE:
21 105
What we noticed…
472 livres
It’s not just Shawinigan where there are heavyweight fights. In a battle almost as long as the one between Arslanbek Makhmudov and Michael Wallisch, Arber Xhekaj won his duel against Pat Maroon in the first half. At 238 pounds, Xhekaj is four pounds heavier than the Lightning’s No. 14. Xhekaj, who had just punched Anthony Cirelli, didn’t hesitate to accept Maroon’s invitation.
Another try for Anderson
Martin St-Louis had shuffled his cards for the visit of the Lightning. In the last game before a long trip, he had replaced Kirby Dach in the center and bet on Josh Anderson on the right wing. At five-on-five, Dach has done well alongside Jonathan Drouin and Juraj Slafkovsky, but Anderson lacks the game vision and passing skills to feed Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
One less passenger
Author of two small shots in his last five games and only six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 26 games this season, Evgenii Dadonov skipped his turn for the visit of the Lightning. He had appeared in his team’s last 18 games. Michael Pezzetta replaced him in the formation. On the blue line, Mike Matheson returned to the game after a four-game absence. Chris Wideman was not in uniform.
too many punishments
There was a dangerous team on the power play and a team that still didn’t find the right recipe. The dangerous team wore a blue and white vest. The Lightning have scored two power-play goals on six occasions. Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, his second of the game, beat Jake Allen.