It took some time for this one to get going, the game had an uneven rhythm and lots of errant passes. The Washington Capitals had played yesterday and it showed, they looked tired and were beaten to the puck by the Montreal Canadiens more often than not, in the first 20 minutes.
The game featured two of the goaltenders who were in the running to play for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-off; Samuel Montembeault on one side and Logan Thompson on the other side. I don’t know if the Canadiens’ goaltender read John Shannon’s comments about his selection being political, but if he did, it must only have motivated him further. As for Thompson, the snub was motivation enough, he played a great game.
Just a minute after the halfway mark of the first, Alex Newhook scored his sixth goal of the season thanks to a zone exit initiated by Lane Hutson and an assist from Cole Caufield. That assist was a point in a sixth consecutive game for the Canadiens rookie, tying a Chris Chelios record which was days away from being 40 years old. Although Glen Harmon had set it first, all the way back in 1943.
Related: Canadiens’ Rookie Ties Chelios Record
Less than five minutes later, Caufield scored his 17th of the season, with an assist from captain Nick Suzuki. The sniper is the top American goal scorer so far this season, but it wasn’t enough for Team USA to name him to its roster, there’s something poetic about seeing him score against the nation’s capital.
Related: Caufield Left off 4 Nations Roster
At the end of the first frame, Montreal lead 2-0 and 10-9 shots wise. The visitor came out with much more energy in the second, it almost looked like they had been told Montreal wouldn’t just hand them the two points. Just 33 seconds into the middle frame, after Washington won a battle for the puck behind Montembeault’s net, John Carlson fed Pierre-Luc Dubois who fired a perfect shot past the goaltender to bring the Caps back to within one.
It must have felt good for the Quebecer who was booed by some fans tonight. Was it because the Los Angeles Kings offered a better package than the Canadiens did to the Winnipeg Jets in the Dubois derby? It seems to me, that was out of the players hands, and even if he wasn’t considering how things went for him since he signed that contract with the Kings, fans should be happy to have dodged a bullet.
There was no more goals in the second stanza, not that both teams didn’t try, but the goaltenders stood tall. Thompson was very impressive when he…